Running With Love
by lilyyuri
Summary: Sequel to When Harry Met Susan. Multiple crossovers. HarryXPeter Pevensie. Harry and Peter find each other again, but troubles are quick to follow. COMPLETE.
1. Finding the gateway

**Running With Love**

**Chapter One- Finding the Gateway**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

**Warning: **This is a slash story, and _will_ contain sexual situations in later chapters.

**Story Summery:** The much anticipated sequel to "When Harry met Susan"... Harry and Peter are reunited at last, but troubles are quick to follow.

This story starts at the point where "When Harry met Susan" droped off. You don't actually need to read the first story, but it'll help you understand better what the hell is going on here.

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery:** Alone in Narnia, Peter is having a hard time to forget Harry. The opportunity to reunite with his loved one present itself, will Peter take it?

* * *

"All kinds of sadness I've left behind me.  
Many's the day when I have done wrong.  
But I'll be yours for ever and ever.  
Climb in the saddle and whistle along." 

(Jethro Tull- The Whistler)

…**oo00oo…**

Seven, eight, nine, ten, _turn_, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, _turn_, one, two, three…

"Peter!" Peter's head snapped and whipped at the direction of the accusing voice, "What _are _you doing?"

"Pacing." He replied in a tone that indicated it was rather obvious and if Susan couldn't see it than something must be a little off with her,

"In the Thrones room?" Peter shrugged, and slumped into one of the gloriously decorated thrones,

"I'm bored." He declared and gazed at the ceiling. Susan sighed deep and walked over to take a seat next to her older brother.

"Peter…" she started but he stopped her with an impatient wave of his hand,

"Stop, Susan, spear me." They sat quiet for a few minutes, each trapped deep in his thoughts, when all of a sudden Susan jumped to her feet in annoyance,

"Damn it, Peter, I can't believe that even after all this time all you can bloody think of is that stupid Harry!" with that she ran out of the room leaving Peter bewildered and gaping after her.

**..oo0oo.. **

"Peter, Peter, where are you?" The cheerful voice of Lucy brought him back from his musing and he turned to see his youngest sister bounding into the room. When Lucy saw her brother sitting on his window ledge, looking rather solemn she immediately sobered up and stopped her bouncing,

"Hey, Lu, what's going on?" Lucy carefully took a seat next to her brother and studied his face seriously,

"You're not happy." She stated,

"What? What do you mean?" Lucy heaved a great sigh,

"I overheard Susan talking to Mr. Tumnus the other day," she said and Peter immediately bristled, "Susan said you're not happy because you're in love." She hung her huge eyes on Peter, studying his reaction carefully, he chose to turn his head away looking outside the window, "Its true then, isn't it. You miss her." Peter's head wiped around in astonishment to face his sister,

"Her? Who are you talking about?"

"Pansy, of course, you're in love with her and now that's she's gone, you miss her." Lucy concluded with a proud voice, Peter tried to smile,

"Lu, I hardly think this is an appropriate topic of conversation for you." He tried to sound kind and understanding rather than furious- as he felt; I really should have a word with Susan as to who and what she talks about me.

"Oh, please. Mother told me all about love and how children come to the world. You see, when mummy and daddy love each other very much, they sometimes…"

"Yes, yes. I get it." Peter stopped her hurriedly, his face turning slightly paler, "Mother had the same talk with me, back when I was your age. And speaking of mother, you shouldn't go around listen to other people's private conversations. It's impolite." He added sternly, falling once again into the older, responsible brother niche.

"You love Pansy…" She teased, "Peter and Pansy sitting in a tree…" Peter effectively cut the rest of the teasing song by clamping his hand over his sister's mouth.

"Come on Lu, let's go." He said as he rose from his seat dragging the giggling Lucy behind him,

"Where are we going?"

"To play something, any game you choose." He told her and her face broke in a huge smile. She immediately grabbed Peter's hand and started dragging him instead.

**..oo0oo..**

"What are you two so happy about?" Peter asked as he walked into the breakfast room to find his young siblings chatting amicably,

"Nothing!" They both replied cheerfully and Peter narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them, glaring until Edmund started shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Lucy looked from one brother to another and rolled her eyes,

"Mr. Tumnus has just been here to discuss plans for the anniversary celebrations."

"The anniversary celebrations?" Peter asked confused, it seemed to him that his mind been so off things lately he couldn't keep track of the simplest things anymore.

"The end of war anniversary, silly!" chirped Lucy cheerfully, cutting Peter's musing and he realized that once again his mind went _there_. He shook his head to clear it and looked at Lucy, slightly confused,

"But that's months away."

"Actually, it's only three months away. Mr. Tumnus said there is a big party planed, to honour us and to celebrate the fact that one year ago we won the war." Lucy always loved parties, and this one promised to be huge and magnificent. Peter smiled absentmindedly and sighed mentally, god, it's been nearly a year already. Nearly a year in which he spent almost every waking moment thinking about him, thinking about how much he missed his voice, his touch, missed looking at him, talking and laughing with him, kiss him and just being _them_.

"Peter, _Peter_!" Peter snapped back to reality at his brother's cry. He looked down and realized Edmund must have said something he completely missed and that Lucy was gone.

"Where's Lu?" He asked, trying to sound as if he didn't just phase out for who knows how long.

"She went to hide; Susan wants to sit her down for a hair cut." Edmund said rather smugly while buttering a piece of toast. Peter groaned desperately, Susan took upon herself the unofficial role of "Mum" and was determined to make sure the rulers of Narnia looked as presentable as possible at all times. Needless to say, none of her siblings were too happy about her ministering. "Peter, did you listen to what I said?"

"Hmm?" Edmund sighed deep and tried again, speaking slowly and clearly as if Peter was soft in the head,

"I said- I found the mirror Aslan used to send Harry and Pansy back to Hogsbrain, Hogsbreath Hog… something." Well, that sure got his attention, he thought with a mental roll of his eyes. Though Peter rarely spoke of the subject it was obvious to all the other Pevensie children that his mind was ever occupied with the two teenagers that were long since gone from the Narnia view.

"You found it? Where is it?" Peter's voice was eager and Edmund prided himself for finally managing to catch his brother's attention and interest, he jumped from his seat, buttered toast at hand and called,

"Follow me!" The two brothers ran through the castle's corridors and halls, down towards the dungeons and Peter made a mental note to himself to forbid Edmund to go down there in the future, the stone walls seemed so much closer together down here, so much more menacing- hardly a place suitable for children. Edmund, unaware of Peter's concern, finally skidded to a halt in front of a small door and gestured proudly at it. Peter approached it cautiously and reached for the door knob. The door cricked ominously and he briefly wondered why on earth the door wasn't locked to begin with. But the thought fled his mind when he saw the mirror. That big, ancient, scarred mirror and a wave of almighty joy swept over him, Peter bit his lip hard trying to hide the smile that was threatening to creep up and turned to Edmund.

"Ed, this is no place for a kid to play," he said in the sternest voice he could muster and Edmund gasped in disbelief, "This mirror is dangerous and I'm going to make sure it is moved to another location. Now, run along." Edmund shot his older brother a venomous look and turned to leave muttering his discontent with Peter under his breath.

Peter, in the meanwhile, entered the room and walked towards the mirror in awe. Here it was the thing he wanted to find for the last eight months… the object that hunted his dreams and caused him to wake up abruptly with cold sweat all over him and a raging hard-on. The key, door and gate to Harry- At last. Peter wasn't exactly sure how to work the mirror as he never witnessed the actual departure of Harry and Pansy, so he slowly circled the mirror, which occupied most of the tiny room and took a deep breath before placing a tentative hand on the frame. Nothing happened, Peter exhaled in frustration mixed with relief. He then stood and stared at his reflection for a while, suddenly overcome with second thoughts.

What if Harry didn't want to see him anymore? It's been nearly a year, after all, and while Peter had little other choice than to think of Harry (being one of the only four humans in Narnia, and having the other three being his siblings), but Harry came from a large school, full of people that were not related to him. Not to mention that the last time Peter saw Harry, Harry had a girlfriend- Hannah, whom Peter realized quite soon after Harry left, he hated with a passion.

And besides, who can guarantee the mirror would send him to Hogwarts even if he did find out how to work it. He took a deep breath and tapped his foot on the floor distractedly, what to do, what to do… Well, he reasoned, I don't really have much reason to stay here, so I might as well do it. If nothing else, at least it would allow me to tie some loose ends with Harry and maybe then I could finally move on and not wonder around like a bloody zombie. With the decision forming in him he reached out and touched the surface of the mirror, not entirely sure what he was doing. To his immense surprise his hand sank right through the surface of the mirror, Peter pulled his hand back hastily, gulping and trying to calm his heart that was beating a mile a minute. What do you know; he thought to himself, I found how to work that blasted thing. Now it all came down to whether Peter Pevensie was brave enough to take the next step and face what he's been dreaming and dreading of for the past eight months.

It seemed to Peter that an age had past while he stood there in front of the mirror and gazed at himself, though he long ceased seeing his face in the mirror, buried deep in his thoughts. At long last he reached forward and let his fingers sink in the reflective surface of the mirror again, the sensation wasn't at all unpleasant, he mused- it was almost like putting your hand through heavy mist or something. He watched carefully as his hand disappeared, then his wrist and forearm. He stopped when he was elbow deep in the mirror and took a deep breath to calm his nerves again. Suddenly the door crashed open and a frantic Susan was on the threshold panting and pale,

"Peter, Stop!" Peter turned to see what the commotion was all about and lost his balance, falling sideways into the mirror. Susan, with lightning fast reflexes tried to catch him but since Peter was much stronger and heavier than her she found herself being dragged along. The last thing Peter saw was his sister's wide-eyed petrified look, before everything turned black around them.


	2. Doubts and Hope

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Two- Doubts and Hope**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Peter and Susan find out they cannot go back to Narnia. Harry is facing a difficult choice.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

Peter felt hard, cold stone pressed against his back, and there was a considerate residing in the blackness behind his closed eyelids but he didn't open his eyes as of yet. He willed his body to relax and took a deep breath, he wasn't sure what to expect when he opened his eyes. Harry told him that Hogwarts was a big stone build castle, but that didn't give Peter much to work with.

After a while he got bored with just lying on his back with closed eyes and decided he had nothing to lose and gingerly prayed his eyes open, blinking slowly. A stone ceiling was the first thing he saw, when he moved his head slightly the ceiling connected to a stone wall. Peter sat abruptly; the corridor around him wouldn't be out of place in the huge stone castle of Cair Paravel. I got nowhere? He thought miserably when a sharp intake of breath on his left alerted him that he wasn't alone. Peter looked down and saw Susan coming to besides him. Great, what is _she_ doing here? Who invited her?

"Peter, what have you done?" She groaned but Peter scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off before acknowledging his sister,

"I've done nothing." He stated firmly. Susan rolled her eyes and got up as well surveying her surroundings,

"Where are we, anyway?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Hogwarts." As long as there was no proof of the contrary, such as Ed or Lu springing from around the corner, we have made it to Hogwarts, he decided.

"Peter Pevensie, you imbecile!" Susan yelled and Peter decided to ignore her and tried to decide which direction to turn, "I cannot believe you were so irresponsible as to actually try and get here! What are we going to do? How are we going to return?" Susan was clasping her hands together nervously and looked on the verge of hysteria. Peter was turning to his distraught sister when a cheerful voice came from behind them,

"Good morning." The two Pevensie siblings literally jumped up and turned to see an old man clad in long deep-red velvet robes with little sparkling silver stars on them standing in front of them, his eyes twinkling shrewdly behind his half-moon spectacles, smiling benignantly through his beard, which truth be told was more than a little disturbing.

"Good morning, sir." Peter answered politely, subconsciously drawing closer to Susan,

"You're no students of mine, where do you come from?" Susan edged her way towards Peter and grabbed the hem of his tunic firmly as if afraid the old man would try to separate them,

"N-Narnia, sir." She said in a small voice,

"Nenarnia? I don't think I've heard of a place called Nenarnia, is it in Wales?" The old man looked pensive and Peter had to fight the mad urge to laugh,

"Hmm no, sir- not Nenarnia, just Narnia."

"Oh well, that's a completely different story then. Tell me; did you two meet Aslan by any chance?" His eyes were moving from Peter to Susan, his smile growing a little wider at their astonished faces,

"You know Aslan?" Susan practically squeaked,

"It's a little hard not to notice a six foot tall lion strutting around, isn't it?" At that Peter let out a snort of laughter which made him bit down on his lip and put a hand to his mouth in embarrassment, the old man didn't look in slightest offended by Peter's reaction, on the contrary, his smile grew into a grin, "My name is Professor Dumbledore and I'm the headmaster in this school, who are you?" Peter immediately straightened to his full height and cleared his throat,

"My name is Peter Pevensie, and this is my younger sister Susan." He wasn't too sure weather he should offer his hand to the old man, as the latter didn't show any indication of shaking hands himself. Professor Dumbledore gazed at the two teenagers in front of him lost in thought, while Peter and Susan both grew steadily uncomfortable under the unwavering gaze until they physically started to squirm. This seemed to have shaken Dumbledore out of his reverie and he smiled at the Pevensies again.

"Why don't we step down to my office where we could converse more freely?" He said in a voice that didn't leave much room for argument even thought the benign smile never left his face. Peter and Susan realized they had little choice but nod and follow the old man.

Peter was well aware now of Susan's hand on the edge of his tunic but felt reluctant to tell her to let go. He knew well enough that once they were alone all hell would break loose but for now he felt comforted by her presence. Annoying as Susan could be at times she was still his sister and family sticks together through thick and thin- their parents always told them.

The pair trotted behind Dumbledore who was pacing rather briskly for a man his age through the halls and staircases of the stone castle. They passed heavy oak doors and narrow-high windows, but saw no-one on the way,

"The students are all in class now," Dumbledore explained cheerfully, they were just passing a big door when a loud bang was heard which made Peter and Susan jump up and clutch together, "Ah, Charms," Dumbledore explained, his eyes twinkling with mirth, "First years learning to levitate, a pretty basic charm- just a swish and a flick, but it seem that every year at least one still manages to blow up his feather quite spectacularly." He was chatting away in the same cheerful tone, not at all bothered by the crash. Peter and Susan exchanged a look and shrugged. They continued their journey and just as they were about to round a corner the three heard voices from up ahead. Peter recognized them and the small squeak next to him told him Susan did as well,

"Hmm, I don't know! Vanilla ice-cream." Called the male voice, his strange statement was followed by a short silence and then a female voice broke angrily,

"Potter, you are useless! You were raised by those bloody muggles, how come you can't think of a decent sweet?"

"Well, it's not like they actually gave me any." The male voice argued back just as Dumbledore's company turned up behind the two teenagers facing a solemnly looking stone gargoyle and Peter's heart leaped to his throat.

"Try onion jam." Harry and Pansy jumped up and nearly fell over backwards to the space that opened behind them when the gargoyle sprang aside. They clutched each other for support and smiled weakly at their Headmaster when Harry spotted the figure standing behind Dumbledore,

"Peter!" he cried and was about to spring forward but Pansy stopped him with a tightening of her clutch of his upper arm and a cry of her own,

"Susan!" Harry immediately stilled and a slight frown crossed his face. Susan didn't look too happy herself.

"Well, well. It seemed that you two have already met the Pevensie siblings," Dumbledore's cheerful voice broke through the frozen shock that settled over the four teenagers and they all stared at him, "Why don't we go up and discuss things in calm." The four nodded dumbly and turned to follow him. Once Dumbledore stepped on the revolving staircase Susan broke her firm grasp of Peter and went straight to hug Pansy, who hugged her back. The two girls followed the Headmaster, chatting amicably.

Peter stole a glance over at Harry and was rather pleased to note he wasn't the only who wasn't sure what to do. Eventually he cleared his throat again and gestured to the staircase. Harry nodded once and they stepped on it together, not touching and still not talking. They reached the landing in front of Dumbledore's office in silence, the girls and old man were already inside the office and the door stood slightly ajar, waiting for the boys, but before Peter could push it Harry stopped him with a tentative hand on his forearm. Peter's heart shot straight to his mouth again at the unexpected touch and he gulped nervously, not trusting himself to say or do anything and willed himself to look at Harry. Harry's eyes were searching Peter's face intensely before he leaned forward and Peter caught his breath as he felt Harry's breath tickling his neck,

"I'm so glad you're here." Harry leaned back with a smile and went to open the door and enter the room; Peter took a deep breath and bit his lip trying to hide his satisfied smile before following Harry. When they entered the room Harry realized to his dismay that once again Susan had got the upper hand over him as she and Pansy were sitting in the two middle chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk, forcing Harry and Peter to seat on both sides of them, as far as possible from each other. Harry sank into the plush chair next to Pansy arms-crossed and tried not to sneer at Susan openly.

"Now, before we start, can I offer any of you something- Tea, coffee, a lemon sherbet?" The four teenagers shook their heads in silence. The varied of strong emotions running in the room had an almost physical presence and Dumbledore, being a keen observer of the human soul could almost taste the tension, even if he didn't know the entire story behind it. He sighed and stapled his fingers together, smiling briefly at the thought of youth and their tendency to magnify even the smallest things to the size of a world-wide catastrophe. "Alright then, let's begin. Would either of you care to tell me what is going on?" None responded to the request, "I see. Harry, Pansy, please tell me how you know Mr and Miss Pevensie." Harry and Pansy exchanged an uneasy look and then Pansy started explaining in a quiet voice,

"You see sir, we were working on some beautification potion in Potions class, and… _somehow_ it got botched and got spilled over us and the next thing we knew we woke up in Narnia." Dumbledore nodded and hummed to himself,

"When was that?" He asked and Pansy opened her mouth to answer and shut it a few times without saying a word. Eventually she frowned and looked up rather puzzled,

"I'm not sure… it seem that we only been out cold for a few minutes but… we've been in Narnia for ages, sir." She cried, unsure if the Headmaster would believe her or not. Dumbledore didn't look in slightest surprised and simply nodded.

"Sir, how is it possible?" Harry asked before he could stop himself, he's been wondering that same thing ever since he and Pansy returned to Hogwarts, a mere forty minutes ago and yet at the same time over a month and a half ago.

"What you must understand is that time is a fickle thing. It's not to be tempered with or to be changed, as you well know, Mr. Potter," Harry nodded absently, memories of third year and time-turners flashing in his mind, "That is to say, time _can_ in fact be changed, it's just not very wise." Dumbledore gave a stern look to each teenager in turn as if they were expressing any desire to run and alter time as he spoke, the four nodded silently and Dumbledore smiled before continuing, "As you are well aware by now our world isn't the only world in existence. This is a very complicated concept to explain and it involves certain changes in the time and space fabric and we're not going to get into all that. Sufficiently to say other worlds do exist and although time is running mostly parallel in them all travelling between them would eventually lead the traveller to the same time-spot from which he or she left." Four confused pairs of eyes were staring at him unblinkingly at the end of his speech and he sighed deep, "Let's just say that whenever you venture in to a different world, you will return to the same spot of time as you left when you get back."

"Is that why Lucy claimed she'd been gone for hours when she first found out the wardrobe but to us it looked like she hasn't been gone at all?" Susan suddenly asked and Dumbledore smiled wide behind his fingers,

"I believe so. What wardrobe would that be?"

"We've been sent to the countryside because of the war," Peter started to explain, "We were staying with professor Kirke and we were playing hide and seek the first time Lucy found the old wardrobe in one of the spear rooms. She came back telling us the most fantastic tale about an enchanted forest and tea with fawns. Naturally we didn't believe her but professor Kirke told us we _should_ believe her. Anyway, we were playing some cricket out doors and… hum, had a little accident with the ball and we had to hide from the Macready and ended up hiding in the wardrobe, and this is how we got to Narnia. And that's where we met Harry and Pansy." Peter finished hastily, all too aware of everyone's eyes on him, he gulped nervously and lowered his eyes.

"I see. So what you're saying is you found the gateway to Narnia through the old wardrobe in professor Kirke's house." Peter and Susan nodded and Dumbledore mentally rolled his eyes, how many times had he warned old Kirke to get rid of that wardrobe? But the old coot seemed set on leaving it there even though he couldn't travel through it himself anymore. "How did you end up here?" At that Susan gave Peter a scolding look, which he ignored,

"The same way Harry and Pansy did- the mirror." Dumbledore turned his eyes to his young students, who from some reason looked almost guilty,

"It was Aslan who sent us." Pansy blurred out and Harry nodded in agreement. Dumbledore was rather amused by all this. Old friends' name creeping up out of the blue, places he hasn't been to in an age. He was sourly tempted to question them all and dig up as much information as he could of his old pales but knew that the four were not in the right state for that at the moment.

"Very well then, tell me Susan- what do you think I should do?" Susan looked startled by the question but answered all the same, without looking at Peter,

"We'd like to go back to Narnia, please sir. Our little brother and sister are all alone there." Peter turned his gaze away from his sister, she's done it again, he thought bitterly, thinking she knows what's best for everyone. Susan looked hopefully at Dumbledore but her heart sank when she saw the smile slowly sipping off his lips,

"I'm afraid that would be a problem." He said quietly, looking at her kindly. Susan felt the tremor of her chin, the telltale sign she was about to cry and looked down at her hands. Beside her Peter looked sharply at Dumbledore, not entirely sure what he was feeling, "You see, the only one who can activate the mirror properly is Aslan and now that he's gone, I'm afraid we'll have to await his return before we could send you back home."

"But, if we need Aslan to activate the mirror, how did we do it?" Peter asked,

"The magic Aslan located on the mirror was a very strong one and apparently didn't wear off completely and thus you were able to use it. But I assure you, young Mr. Pevensie that the mirror broke once you and your sister passed through it and that the only way for the two of you to return to Narnia is to wait for Aslan's return." Susan seemed to have broken down completely at the words and started sobbing hard into her hands. Pansy put a comforting arm around her and nearly smiled when she saw Peter's shocked face at Susan's outburst.

For the first time since Edmund told him he had found the mirror Peter felt that perhaps using it wasn't indeed the smartest move. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully and tried to figure out what to do next, when Dumbledore ultimately made that decision for him, "I suppose you two better stay here for the time being." He said kindly, but Susan's sobs only grew louder, Dumbledore passed Pansy a box of tissues and addressed the boys, "Harry, I think that the best solution at the moment would be for you to take Peter along with you. I'll arrange for a bed for him in your dorm and I shall meet him and Susan in the library tomorrow after breakfast. In the meanwhile he's to remain in your care." Harry nodded firmly and stole a glance at Peter who placed a comforting hand over Susan's back only to have it shoved away by the crying girl. Harry's heart flared in happiness, he was to keep Peter close to him, and he had specific orders after all.

"But first I think a little wardrobe change is in order, Mr. Pevensie, stand up please." Peter looked up startled but obeyed. Dumbledore surveyed him for a few seconds and then flicked his wand at the boy. Peter's velvet green tunic and leather trousers immediately changed to the formal Hogwarts black robed uniforms complete with a Gryffindor tie. He looked down at himself in astonishment. "Well, then, run along boys. Class is nearly over and you still have to go down to the dungeon to collect your bag I believe Mr. Potter." Harry nodded and got up from his chair, he had to hurry if he was to make it on time for Care of Magical Creatures.

"Wait, what about Susan?" Peter's voice was anxious and Harry mentally rolled his eyes, it's our chance to get _away_ from the bint, he thought but said nothing,

"Don't worry about your sister Mr. Pevensie. Miss Parkinson would remain with her and she'll join you in a bit, now run along." Dumbledore said resisting the temptation to add "Shoo" to the boys, but Harry already grabbed Peter's arm and started dragging him out of the office. Dumbledore sighed, now to take care of the completely hysterical girl, oh, joy.

…**oo00oo…**

Harry was racing through the corridors with Peter trailing miserably behind; he was so exited, confused, hopeful and dreading all at the same time. Peter obviously came to Hogwarts for him, does he regret coming now? Why the hell did he bring Susan along?

When they reached the dungeons Harry no longer cared for any of the reasons that brought Peter and Susan here, he halted suddenly causing Peter to walk right into him and turned and grabbed the staggering blond boy. Harry then shoved Peter to a nearby dark alcove and pressed him hard against the wall. Before Peter could protest Harry crashed their lips together. Peter's hands flew of their own accord to wrap around Harry's waist as he worked to deepen the kiss, he forgot all about Susan and the fact that he may never return to Narnia because here was what he had craved for most in the past eight months and he was not about to let Harry go anytime soon.

When they both came back up for air, they smiled to each other, panting and still hugging tight,

"I'm so glad you came here." Harry said again and leaned forward for another soft kiss, this time less urgent than before, "I really missed you." He was rather startled when Peter pushed him gently back,

"How long has it been since you left Narnia?" He asked and Harry frowned before his eyes widened in shock,

"Oh, shit. The time thing…It's been a little less than an hour. How long…"

"Eight months." Peter said quietly and smiled sadly,

"I'm so sorry, Peter, I had no idea." Peter shrugged,

"It's alright, you couldn't have known." Harry's hand went up to cup his cheek and he turned his face away,

"Peter…"

"You've yet to see her, haven't you?" Harry's hand froze and then slowly slipped from Peter's face and the latter sighed in defeat, wishing all of a sudden he was back in Narnia, still sitting on his window ledge and pining for Harry.

"It's… I… No." Harry admitted quietly and stepped back from their embrace. They both knew of whom they spoke, poor Hannah, who cast such a long shadow over their love without even knowing it. Harry bit his lip and stepped out of the alcove. There was nothing he could say or do to change things and right now he was going to be late for class. "Come on." He sighed and made his way to the Potion classroom.

Once inside the classroom he pulled out his wand and cleared the mess that was his and Pansy attempt at beautification potion and shoved his things back into his bag before swinging it over his shoulder and looking up at Peter. Contrary to what he expected Peter didn't stood by the door looking timidly at the dungeon but was near the supply cupboard reading the labels with interest.

"Wow," he whispered almost to himself, "This is amazing." Harry smiled and went over to join Peter. After six years of tutorage in Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry things like the supply cupboard of the potions ingredients stopped holding awe to him. But it was really funny to see Peter all worked up by it. Harry narrowly resisted the almost overwhelming temptation to slip his arms around Peter and nuzzle his neck softly; he took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it of poorly-timed desires,

"Hum, Peter, we better go, we're going to be late for Hagrid." Peter turned from the supply cupboard and looked at Harry, searching his eyes but Harry's head was bowed. Peter sighed and let Harry lead him to whatever Hagrid was.

I'm such an idiot, Harry thought as they wound their way through the stair cases and corridors towards the entrance hall, it's been hardly one bloody hour, in which I could think of little other than Peter and now he's here and I have to choose. It's not fair. I don't want to be in this position, I don't want to hurt people, why is it always me who has to deliver pain?

They stepped out of the castle into the cold, crisp January air and Harry felt the coolness sipping to his brain and somewhat clear it. There was nothing he could do for the moment. He had to speak to Hannah but he knew he wouldn't get a chance to do so before lunchtime. He led Peter towards Hagrid's cabin, the fresh snow creaking under their feet until they reached the cluster of students. Harry chose to stay in the back of the group, not wanting everyone to swoop over Peter with questions. He decided upon leaving Dumbledore's office to say that Peter was a new student to anyone who asked, now he only wished he had discussed it with Peter before actually facing everyone.

"Harry! Where the hell have you been? I thought Madame Pomfrey had you admitted for something horrible, but you don't look too… Hello." Hermione Granger skidded to a stop in front of Harry and Peter breaking her fuss over Harry as she noted Peter standing slightly behind Harry looking almost sheepish.

"I'm fine 'Mione; I didn't even get to see Madame Pomfrey. I went to talk to Dumbledore." Harry said with a small tight-lips smile and she nodded absently, not taking her eyes off Peter, Harry rolled his eyes, why does every girl looks at Peter like she's about to ravish him whole, can't they see he's _mine_? He did a quick double take of his thoughts and then forced a smile at Hermione, "This is Peter. Peter, this is Hermione." Hermione extended her hand promptly and after a moment's hesitation Peter took it in a firm shake. Harry searched the sea of heads in front of him and frowned,

"Pansy's not here and neither is your sister," he told Peter quietly. Peter looked almost alarmed at that, was Susan supposed to be here? After a quick inspection he noticed that half the students present were wearing ties with green and silver stripping, like Pansy's had been. "I hope they're ok." Harry finished and chided himself for sounding so insincere, especially when he saw Peter's face.

Before they could continue their conversation he saw Hagrid and Firenze approaching them. Peter's eyes widened at the sight of Hagrid's huge form and Harry and Hermione couldn't help smile at his reaction.

"Good mornin' to ya all, today we ha' a special class, I asked professor Firenze here ta talk ta ya abou' centaurs. Ya kanna ask 'im everythin' ya wan'." Hagrid announced happily and the crowd broke in murmurs, Harry could hear Malfoy's not-too-subtle snort and was not surprised to feel Hermione's confining hand on his arm before he could even think of pouncing the pointy little ferret.

Most of the female populace in the class was eying Firenze's chiselled torso and sleek white coat admiringly. Hands slowly began to rise in the air and people began to ask questions. Hermione, never one to miss a class undergoing, was making her way steadily to the head of the group. Before long the girls were huddled close to the pale centaur eagerly asking questions- most of them not entirely centaur-related but more Firenze related (who bloody cares if the centaur has a bloody girlfriend, thought Harry in dismay), while the boys hung back and chatted quietly amongst themselves.

"So, who ar' ya?" Peter thought he might have a heart attack at hearing the harsh whisper from behind him; he slowly turned, gulping down as he lifted his gaze to look the giant squarely in the eye. Hagrid's face broke into a hearty grin, beady black eyes twinkling friendly and Peter felt his initial dread ebb away. Before he could answer though, Harry jumped in,

"This is Peter, he's a new student." Peter glanced sideways at Harry who gave him a tiny shrug. Well, I suppose I am a new student, in a way, he mused and smiled up to Hagrid.

"Aren't ya goin' to ask Firenze somethin'?" Hagrid looked almost insulted and Harry knew it was because of his low self-esteem and insecurity as a teacher (boy, Hermione really does rub off on you after a while), but couldn't come up with a good reassurance for Hagrid, "This is a centaur, he's half a man and half a horse." He heard him say to Peter and bit down a smile, like Peter needed to be explained what centaurs are.

"I know, I've met centaurs before." Peter answered as politely as he could, as ridiculous as this conversation was, he was still having it with a nearly ten foot tall person, not something to be taken lightly he figured.

"Really, who?"

"Orius." Peter said slowly and hesitantly, it was one thing to have Dumbledore know Aslan and Narnia but he didn't think he could handle this colossal to be chums with Orius as well. Hagrid frowned and scratched his shaggy beard,

"Don't know an Orius. He's not from tha' forest herd, is he?" Peter looked desperately at Harry who cleared his throat, mind racing,

"No, er, Peter is from, hm, another magical school. Far away." He said and cringed inwardly at his own feeble excuse. Maybe we should have taken the time to come up with a decent story, rather than snog in the dungeons, he thought. The memory of the kiss sent a fresh wave of guilt through him and he just wished he could skip the rest of his classes and simply duck to his bed and hide under the covers. Luckily Hagrid didn't seem to notice his discomfort or even his answer as he was called to break up a brewing fight between Ron and Malfoy.

"I'm from a magical school, far away?" Peter said with a slight sneer and Harry shot him a sheepish smile.

"I wanted to say you're from Beauxbatons but Hagrid is sort of dating the Headmistress so that would be quite a giveaway." Peter sighed,

"I don't understand what professor Dumbledore is thinking. I can't just trail after you like a lost puppy all day. And you shouldn't be babysitting me around."

"I don't mind." Harry blurred out before he could stop himself and Peter smiled sadly at him.

"I shouldn't have come here. I've caused too much trouble already." He walked off to the nearest tree and slumped down under it, head buried in his arms. Harry's body was tingling and poised with crossing emotions, he knew that going to comfort Peter would probably make things worse but on the other hand, he couldn't exactly leave him there, right? He sighed, feeling like a complete idiot and walked over to Peter.

"Come on, let's go." Peter looked up at Harry's stretched hand and took it gingerly, allowing Harry to pull him to his feet. Harry turned to walk back to the castle without a word and Peter figured he better go with him. After all didn't Dumbledore tell them to stick together?

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **The shoulder height of the average male African Lion (_Panthera leo_) is about 4 feet, Dumbledore is referring to Aslan head height which is rather impressive for any feline.


	3. Fight for us

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Three- Fight for us**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **There are so many reasons to walk away and take the easy way, but one main reason to make it work.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

Harry heaved a huge sigh of relief. What a day! A month and a half all wrapped up in a one day- like a lifetime in one hour. He lowered his head and let the hot water cascade down his back, the heat and force of the shower stream relaxing his aching muscles. It was after dinner now and he still hadn't had a chance to speak with Hannah.

After walking on Hagrid and Care of Magical Creatures Harry took Peter up to the Gryffindor tower, showing him the common room and the dorms- where the sixth bed had already been added, he then left Peter with a book and a promise to come back to fetch him for lunch before hurrying up to the north tower for Divination. The last thing he needed was professor Trelawney predicting Peter's untimely death, the boy was on his ropes' end as it was.

Harry was fully prepared to face Hannah after lunch but when he came to pick Peter up the latter told him he had no desire to go down to the crowded hall and asked Harry if he could stay in the Gryffindor tower. Harry, being the noble Gryffindor that he is, went down to the hall and got some sandwiches for Peter and himself and they spent the lunch break in the tower, eating in silence. The same drill occurred at dinner time. After dinner Harry introduced Peter to Ron, who predictably enough didn't ask too many questions and was just happy to meet new faces. Seeing that Peter was doing well enough on his own, Harry decided it was high time to take a hot shower and use the distant from Peter to think things over a little more clearly.

While Harry was trying to compose himself in the shower Peter sat down with Ron for a game of wizarding chess. After he got over his initial shock at seeing the pieces move of their own accord Peter launched himself into the game gleefully, it's been quite a while since he had a worthy chess opponent since none of his other siblings played. Ron, too, was ecstatic to finally have a proper match, yes; it was true that Harry improved heaps since the first time they played but Peter was a _challenge_.

I wish dad was here, Peter's mind was drifting off as Ron was making little humming noises trying to figure out which was the best move to do next. Dad would have known what to do, how to rectify this whole mess. Susan is right; I am an inconsiderate brat who only thinks of himself. I just wanted to see Harry again so bad I didn't think about the others. I didn't even think about Harry. Peter sank lower in his chair, overrun with guilt- I left Ed and Lu without even saying goodbye, and now Susan is stuck here as well, and I made Harry choose between a stupid war-time fling and his steady, solid relationship. It's just wrong; I'm wrong, so wrong.

"Check!" Peter lifted his head and blinked at Ron's wide grin. He lowered his eyes to the board and saw all his remaining pieces glaring at him, with what he assumed were anger. The Queen was tapping her foot angrily and the King looked positively petrified, head darting in all directions.

"Well?" the tiny stone carved figure of the Queen said and Peter raised his eyebrows at her; he wasn't really in the habit of talking to what should be inanimate objects, "Are you going to do something? He's your _King_!" she accused Peter and he found himself murmuring back,

"No he's not. I am a king, King Peter the magnificent!" some king I turned out to be, if Aslan could have seen me now he would strip me of my crown without hesitation.

"Oi, Peter, mate, are you there?" Peter lifted his eyes; Ron was gazing at him as if he was a madman.

"I think we can call it the night," he said tiredly, "It looks like you won anyway; I think I'm going up to bed." Ron nodded and swept the pieces back into the box, Peter's Queen screaming at him in a shrill voice until Ron finally closed the lid. Ron rose from his seat, stretched out and scratched his belly,

"Well, I better go give my woman some love," he said and Peter smiled politely, "Most important thing 'bout love, never neglect your bird." Ron mused almost to himself as he made his way towards the portrait hole. Peter watched him go with amusement and wondered absently weather crossing to another world to see your love can possibly count as enough.

When Peter entered the sixth year's boys' dorm he was gratified with the view of Harry freshly showered, wearing nothing but a towel slang low on his hips, his skin still dripping wet. Peter gulped and did the only thing he could think of- he turned around to face the door, blushing crimson.

"Peter!" Harry was standing with hands on his hips glaring at Peter's back, "Look at me!" Peter shook his head miserably without turning, "Fuck, Peter why do you have to be so stubborn? You've seen me wear far less before now!" Peter closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the cool wood of the door, breathing hard through his nose trying to keep his tears from falling. He could hear shuffling noises behind and figured Harry was getting dressed. Peter's chest felt like a huge, heavy lead weight was put in the spot where his heart should be.

"You can look now." Harry's quiet, defeated voice was making Peter feel far worse than Harry's screaming did. He slowly turned and leaned against the door. Harry stood at the foot of his bed, wearing a pair of worn, comfortable looking red-plaid flannel pyjamas. Peter moved to his right, edging along the door until he felt the wood replaced with hard stone and slid down the wall and ended up in a heap on the floor, knees pulled to his chest and head resting on his folded arms.

Harry stared desperately at the figure near the wall; he knew he had to fix things somehow, because the sight of Peter so distressed was breaking his heart. Harry knelt before Peter and gently coaxed him to raise his head,

"I'm sorry. I really messed up didn't I? I shouldn't have come here." Harry bit his lip at Peter's words, combined with the fact that his beloved wasn't actually looking at him made him feel like he might burst in tears any second now,

"No, Peter, please don't say that." He whispered,

"Well, what would you have me say? Everything is such a mess now. I've put you in an impossible position simply because I was selfish enough to think you feel the same as I do. I've failed my family- leaving Ed and Lu all alone and dragging Susan with me." Harry's heart gave a funny little twist at Peter's words about wanting to see him but before he could address the pressing issue, there was one question that was bugging him throughout the day,

"Why _did_ you bring Susan with you?" Peter lifted his head and chuckled softly,

"It wasn't on purpose, I promise you. She tried to stop me from using the mirror and fell through it with me." Well, perhaps Susan's presence wasn't the ideal situation but right now there wasn't much Harry or Peter could do about it. At least she didn't join up just to spite him.

"Peter," he began slowly, deciding not to put off things anymore, "I've been thinking about things all day long, and I made my decision." He cleared his throat and searched Peter's eyes to see if he made the right choice, which wasn't hard to find, "I'm going to talk to Hannah tomorrow and I'm going to tell her it's over." If Harry expected Peter to fall in his arms with a smile and a kiss he was sourly disappointed, Peter gazed at him with wide eyes,

"NO! Please, you can't do that! Not because I've come here." He cried desperately and Harry clenched his jaw fighting an insane desire to tell Peter that it was, in fact, _entirely_ his fault. But that moment passed soon enough and he sighed,

"I'm not doing it because you came here, it wouldn't have worked between her and me anyway."

"Why not, you can't know that." Two strong forces were battling inside Peter, his own feelings towards Harry and his built-in sense of decency and the desire to do the right thing. It was a fierce struggle and Peter wasn't at all sure which force would come up with the upper hand in the end.

"I _do_ know that," Harry's voice was quiet and pensive, "Peter, can't you see? I love _you_." Peter buried his head in his arms and breathed deep trying to calm himself. This is so wrong, he thought, so wrong, I need to save Harry from himself before he wakes up and realize what a terrible mistake he's made and then he'd hate me forever.

"Don't say that," he mumbled into his arms, "This will only make things harder, we can't be together."

"Why not? I would have split up with Hannah anyway." Harry cried in exasperation, and when Peter stubbornly refused to raise his head, he reached out and softly ran his hand through the beautiful golden strands, feeling the tremor that was running through Peter's body, "I couldn't stay with her. Not when one simple touch from you makes my heart dance like mad. Hannah could never make me feel this way." Peter raised his head slowly, eyes full of affection and regret,

"No, you don't understand, we can't _be_ together. I can't be responsible for turning you into a criminal. I care about you too much to see you go to prison because of me." Harry blinked rapidly a few times, trying to come up with something to say to that perplexing statement, but eventually settled for a frown,

"What are you on about? Why would I go to prison?"

"Because of us- because of _this_." Peter's voice was getting desperate, his hand gesturing between them. Why is Harry being so difficult? Can't he see that it's for his own good? "It's bloody illegal!"

"Being gay isn't a crime," Harry exclaimed and then his mouth dropped open when a sudden thought struck him, "Is homosexuality a crime in 1941?"

"Yes!" Peter and Harry glared at each other for a while, neither saying a word. Then Peter asked in a quiet voice that held a tiny note of hope, "It isn't now?" Harry shook his head with a wide smile, chuckling with relief,

"No, of course not. Hell, they're even talking about legalising gay marriage." Peter gave him an incredulous gaze, gay marriage? By Jove, he'd never ever dared to think up this far ahead.

"Looks like a lot had changed since my time." He said sheepishly, suddenly feeling the gap of 56 years weighing heavy on his shoulders. I'm bloody old enough to be his grandfather, he thought with an inner shudder, looking at the bright green eyes that were smiling at him and begging for his love, Peter swallowed hard and briefly closed his eyes trying to chase the morbid thoughts away.

"I guess. But that doesn't really matter right now. What's important is that you are here, and that we can be together." Harry concluded with a happy smile. Before Peter had a chance to agree or disagree, the door opened and in waltzed a very-pleased-with-himself Neville. When he spotted the two boys near the wall he stopped,

"Hello, Harry," he said brightly and then his gaze fell on Peter and he felt all of his old shyness of new people flooding back to tint his cheeks pink, "Hmm, hello, I'm Neville." He ran his hand nervously through his hair,

"I'm Peter." The blond boy answered with an equally nervous smile. Harry looked between the blushing boys and rolled his eyes, if those two were ever left alone in a room the silence would probably take on a physical form.

"Everything alright Nev?" Neville shook out of his slight shock and nodded,

"Been down the Hufflepuff common room to see Susan," he declared with a proud smile, Harry smiled back- Neville's attempts at conquering Susan Bones' heart were well known in their dorms. What made it all a lot funnier was the fact that things could have happened a lot sooner if either of them was less shy. "Hey, Harry, you know what? We should have a party- you know, to welcome Peter to our dorm and all." Neville's eyes glazed over at the thought and Harry caught Peter's frightened expression from the corner of his eye. "It's been ages since we had a proper party in the tower. I better go tell the rest of the boys, it's going to be fun, you could invite Ha…"

"Neville!" Harry cut in before Neville could say what he wanted, which was clearly not what Harry wanted to hear at the moment, "Can we please postpone the festivities until tomorrow? Peter is really tiered." He felt a little guilty to use Peter like that but he figured that Peter must be smashed after the day he had.

"Sure, I'll nip down to plan things with the other guys." Neville's round face were positively shining as he made his way back out. Harry looked over at Peter sheepishly and caught the blond boy rubbing his face tiredly, and Harry suddenly felt devoid of strength himself. We should just sleep on things for the night, he thought, tomorrow would probably make more sense of things.

"You should get to bed." Harry said gently and helped Peter up from the floor. Peter looked at Harry from under his fringe,

"I don't have any sleeping attire." He admitted softly, "Nor a toothbrush."

"Damn, you're right. Come on, I'll lend you something." Harry turned to his wardrobe and Peter followed looking curiously as Harry skimmed through his collection of pyjamas.

"Hey, what's this?" He asked suddenly and grabbed something out of the wardrobe, unfolding the garment to get a better look,

"No, give that back." Harry frantically tried to grab the offending piece of clothing back but Peter held it out of his reach,

"You've got a pyjama with little sheep on it." He told Harry with a smile. Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest,

"It was a present." He explained, cursing Fred and George Weasley to seven cycles of hell and back for their sick sense of humour,

"I think it's cute," Peter announced loudly and Harry quirked an eyebrow at him, "I'm taking it."

"Peter, come on. I have other things, that are far less embarrassing." He tried again but Peter would hear none of it, as he went over to the wardrobe and grabbed the pyjama bottoms. Harry held his hands in defeat,

"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll try and find a toothbrush for you," he said and went over to his trunk which stood at the foot of his bed, "You're in luck, you know, Hermione's parents are dentists and they always send her toothbrushes and mouthwash and all kind of sugar free sweets. So she always gives us all spare dental stuff." He explained absently as he was rummaging through the trunk fishing for the illusive toothbrushes, "Oh, gottcha. Green or blue?" He lifted his head to look at Peter and his eyes widened as he took the form of the other boy, clad in the offending slightly too big sheep-covered light blue flannel pyjamas. Harry rose to his feet with the toothbrushes still clutched firmly in his hand and went over to Peter,

"You're right," he said softly as his hands ran down the sides of Peter's body, "You look adorable in this. You can keep it." Peter grinned and spread his arms to show Harry his whole appearance and Harry held up the two brushes, "Green or blue?" he asked again,

"Green." Peter decided and took the brush from Harry. Harry led the way to the washroom, and by the time they returned to the dorm Ron and Neville were already there, chatting amicably about party plans. Peter, who was nervous as it was about the whole party idea left Harry to deal with the technicalities and climbed to his bed.

Once behind the curtains, the other voices in the room muffled, Peter seemed to finally being able to think more clearly, but he couldn't seem to make any sense of the vortex inside him. He buried his head under the pillow, like he always did whenever he couldn't find solace in sleep and let his physical exhaustion seep into his brain and send him off to a restless sleep after a long time.

**

* * *

A/N: Ok, I tried to look for British gay rights and legal status over the years but it seems not a lot of people around the net like to discus the idea so I'm not 100 per cent positive that homosexuality was indeed illegal in the forties. But I do remember that Sir Ian McKellen said in an interview that when he was young they couldn't be out in the open because it was illegal (he actually said that he couldn't fuck who he wanted…) and that was in the sixties… so I figured I'm ok with the dated. **


	4. Revelations

**A/N: **Well, apparently I've just been mucking about until now. Things get more interesting from now on, so please bear with me, I'm a late bloomer apparently.

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Four- Revelations**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Peter and Susan find new things about themselves, for good or bad.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

The following morning Peter woke up when the sun filtered through the curtains around his bed. He lay for a while with closed eyes, trying to piece together all that happened the previous day. He managed to get the mirror activated and ended up in Hogwarts, this he knew for certain, but from there on things seemed to be a little fuzzy. Did Harry really say he'd drop his girlfriend for him?

A small ruffle to his left caused Peter to open his eyes. Crouching near the edge of the bed knelt a boy his own age, chin propped on his hands, elbows on the bed, smiling broadly. Peter blinked a couple of times, a little startled,

"You're cute." The boy said with a twang of Irish brogue,

"Huh?" Peter was still wondering if this was a normal occurrence around here, or whether they changed the rules about greeting a new acquaintance in the last 50 years.

"I said you're cute." The boy repeated, "I simply love those blue eyes, tussled blond hair and those pink lips, just begging for a kiss." Peter swallowed hard and subconsciously drew to the far side of the bed,

"Are you queer?" he blurt out before he could stop himself. The boy didn't look in the slightest offended,

"Nah, mate. Well, I'm actually bi." Peter looked at him with a slight frown, now that wasn't very polite now was it?

"Um, ok, bye then." To his surprise the boy not only stayed put but he also broke into a hearty laugh.

"No, I meant bi, as in bi-sexual." He rose to his feet and sat himself comfortably on Peter's bed, ready to launch into an explanation, "See, sex with boys defiantly has its advantages, same equipment and all that. Plus it's pretty much a guarantee both partners would get off on it. But girls are also fun, softer and… squishier. And if you can actually give a girl an orgasm, you're king of the world, mate. I'm Seamus by the way." He said and stretched his hand for Peter to shake. Peter still stared at him, a little shell-shocked of the early morning topic of conversation,

"I'm Peter. Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"

"All the time." Seamus piped happily and Peter couldn't help but smile. It was very hard not to like that strange boy, with his twinkling brown eyes, freckles and the astonishing ability to _talk_. "Come on, Peter, let's go wake Harry up before he misses breakfast." With that Seamus jumped off Peter's bed and Peter pushed the blankets away and followed, "Love your pyjamas." Seamus smirked once Peter stood up and the latter smiled and felt his cheeks turn pink. Sheep covered pyjamas sounded like fun last night, but now he just felt really childish. Seamus stepped over and yanked the curtains around Harry's bed, calling loudly, "Oi, Potter, get up you lazy arse!"

The bundle of blankets stirred a little but other than that didn't give any indication it was awake. A soft moan confirmed it was human though, Seamus smiled and gave Peter a little wink over his shoulder, "If you don't get up, I'm gonna jump on you!" he threatened but received no reply, "Right! That's it, you asked for it, mate." He called before launching himself eagle-spread on Harry's bed. The bundle groaned in pain and soon the scruffy head of Harry poked from under the blankets, looking owlish and angry, "Morning, love."

"Fuck Seamus, why do you have to be such a bastard all the time?"

"Breakfast." Seamus told him in earnest like it was an actual answer. Harry groaned again and stirred a little under Seamus to get the blood flow to his legs resumed, he contemplated shoving the Irish boy off him and go back to sleep when he suddenly caught Peter's face over Seamus' shoulder and sat bolt upright. Unfortunately, in his hurry Harry forgot that Seamus was still sprawled on top of him and the result was a spectacular head smashing. Seamus let out a yelp of pain and Harry fell back to the mattress heavily,

"Ouch! Blimey, Harry, what do you store in that thick head of yours, cement?" he blinked a few times and then smiled serenely, his finger following invisible dots, "Ooh, I see stars…"

It took Harry a couple of seconds but eventually he managed to catch his breath and shoved the heavy body off of himself, "Seamus, go away!" Seamus got up to his feet and swayed a little trying to catch his balance,

"Alright, alright, I'm being abused here anyway. See you guys down in the Great Hall," he said as he made his way to the door. Peter and Harry watched him go but just as the door was closing, Seamus stuck his head in again for the last word, "And don't you dare hide him away this time." the door closed with a loud bang.

Harry sighed and sat in his bed, what a way to wake up, he thought miserably, rubbing his sore head. Peter stood rooted to the spot, not sure what he was suppose to do, looking thoughtfully down at Harry. Eventually he turned and walked over to the bathroom to get ready for another perplexing day in what was fast shaping up to be "the story of his life".

By the time the two of them made it to the Great Hall it was already full. Harry was about to make his way to the Gryffindor table, assuming that Peter would follow suit when he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and watched Peter making his way purposely to the snake pit… I mean the Slytherin table. As if on cue, the entire student body in the hall held a collective breath. Peter could actually feel the eyes of nearly 300 students and staff members following his every step and nearly stopped and turned around but he _had_ to speak to Susan. She sat between Pansy and a large girl and determinably ignored him, though he knew she saw him coming over. Peter stopped at the side of the table, eyes focusing solely on his sister,

"Susan," he whispered breathlessly, Susan ignored him completely, taking a goblet and drinking deep, "Susan, please." He tried again, this time a little louder. Peter looked pleadingly at Pansy whose eyes showed a mix of emotions. Fuck, this is not easy for me! Pansy thought bitterly, I can't just be friendly with Gryffindors out of the blue like this. I have reputation to maintain, she wanted to shout at Peter, and for the love of Merlin, work out your family issues already! Instead she said as kindly as she could, without sounding too kind,

"Give her time Peter." Peter closed his eyes and nodded, but opened then hurriedly when there was a loud clang of a spoon hitting a plate, he looked at Susan who bristled like an angry cat, oh-huh, I know that expression he thought vaguely,

"What do you want from me?" she hissed, "What do you want me to say? That I'm glad we're here? Well, I'm _not_ and it's entirely _your_ fault!" Pansy swept the hall with her eyes trying to catch Potter's gaze so he'd do something, but instead she saw the almost physical wave that swept the hall, people were whispering to each other, eyes glued shamelessly to the scene at the Slytherin table, Pansy even caught some of the whispers and was rather horrified to discover that Hogwarts seemed to believe that Peter and Susan were having a lovers' quarrel. The thought made her sick to her stomach.

"Oh, shut up! The lot of you! She's his _sister_!" Pansy was horrified to find that the yell was coming from her own mouth. For a second there was a stunned silence in the hall, before a new murmuring wave washed it, albeit this one more disappointed.

"Miss Parkinson!" Pansy looked up at the scandalised expression on professor McGonagall's face, "What is the nature of this disruption?" Pansy clamped her mouth shut and sat back down; only just realizing she got to her feet in the heat of the moment. "Mr. Pevensie, I think it's time you return to your own table." Peter gave Susan one last pleading look, which she blatantly ignored and turned in defeat to return to his table, slumping down in the seat next to Harry.

Breakfast continued peacefully once the students gathered the action was over. Peter sat dejected and half heartedly nibbled at the toast Hermione forced into his hand. Harry kept his hands busy with buttering toasts, pouring juice and anything he could think of doing to avoid the urge to wrap them around Peter and whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

"Good morning, Harry." Harry nearly dropped the knife he was holding at the cheerful voice. All around him people stopped eating and stared up to see how this would fold, Harry gulped and tried to smile,

"Hello, Hannah." He said in a small voice and felt Peter freeze by his side. Peter looked up at the round, open, smiling face above him. So, this is the famous Hannah, he thought, his gaze swiping over her blonde braids neatly framing her face and her brown eyes dancing with cheer. She's lovely, he thought, too lovely.

"Harry, I'm sorry I didn't have time to catch up with you yesterday. Heard you fainted in Potions, are you alright?" She asked in genuine concern and Harry gulped again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he murmured, suddenly all too aware of all his friends looking intently at him, "Hannah, can we go outside for a minute?" but Hannah had just spotted Peter,

"Hello, I'm Hannah. Are you new here?" Peter clenched his jaw and tried to smile, it's wasn't really Hannah's fault, she didn't know anything.

"I'm Peter." He answered curtly, and even managed to sound polite rather than furious- as he felt. Hannah dished out another winning smile and Harry stood up,

"Hannah, a word, _please_?"

"Sure, Harry." She smiled brightly and started making her way to the doors, Harry turned to Hermione,

"Could you please show Peter where the library is?" he asked while gathering his things, she nodded and he followed Hannah.

The two of them were walking outside, fresh snow crunching under their feet, and Hannah burrowed deeper in her heavy winter cloak. Harry wrapped his thin school robes more firmly around him; he didn't bring a cloak as he wasn't expected to leave the castle for any class today.

"Well, what is it?" Harry watched the heavy white cloud of his own breath for a second and tried to decide how best to tackle the subject at hand.

"Er, it's a little um, complicated," he began with a quiet voice, "You see when Pansy and I supposedly fainted yesterday…"

"Pansy?" Hannah cut through his story with a cold tone that Harry completely missed,

"Yes, Pansy, Pansy Parkinson."

"I know who _Pansy_ is, I just don't get why you're so chummy with her all of a sudden." The cold tone turned even colder, if that was possible, but Harry remained ever oblivious,

"That's just it!" he cried out, "We didn't exactly faint yesterday, we were transported to another world." Hannah gave him a blank look, this is worse than I thought, she stifle the urge to scream,

"What?"

"I know it sounds stupid but it's true, you can ask Pansy." A sneaking suspicion crept over Hannah, but before she could confront Harry he continued in a rush, "You can also ask Dumbledore, he believes us."

"Yes, because it's so far fetched that Dumbledore would believe the Great Boy-Who-Lived." Harry blinked at the cold sarcastic note in Hanna's voice, I don't think I ever heard her being sarcastic, he thought amazed, she's rather good at it, for a Hufflepuff…

"Dumbledore doesn't believe in everything I say. Nor does he trust me with everything." He informed Hannah with a cold voice, it was the first time he told any of his mates what happened to him and it only downed on him that maybe this time it won't be as easy as it was with Dumbledore.

"So, what are you trying to tell me?"

"That Pansy and I spend close to two months in Narnia. We escaped the White Witch and helped Aslan destroy her." He said flatly.

"I see." Hannah answered just as flatly, trying hard not to roll her eyes, this is by far the most ridiculous story she's ever heard. If Harry wanted to tell her that he prefer the Slytherin bitch over her, he should just say that and not coat it with fantastic tales of heroism.

"You don't believe me."

"Well, I'm really sorry Harry but this is such a fantasy story you're telling me. I realize you have a hero-complex but…" Harry cut through her words viciously, anger raising like flame in him,

"What? You think I'm making this up because I want to play hero? Fuck you Hannah, you know shit!" Hannah's mouth dropped at that, never in all their time together had Harry spoken to her like this, and she was not about to take that sort of verbal abuse, even Hufflepuff kindness has its limits.

"How dare you? How dare you talk to me like that? I'm your _girlfriend_!" she hissed, cheeks red and eyes bright.

"Then you should believe me!" Harry insisted, "Just ask Peter and Susan, they'll verify everything." Hannah let out a mirthless laugh,

"Oh, Merlin, you've brought proof with you. You're mad, you're barking mad and you're trying to drive me insane as well, I really think you should go see Madame Pomfrey."

"I'm not mad! And I'm not trying to drive _you_ mad. I'm trying to break up with you!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs and then clamped his mouth shut when he realized what he just said. Hannah's jaw dropped and for a few minutes she could do little more than gape like a fish out of water, white clouds of respiration nearly obscuring her,

"What? Why? Because I wouldn't believe your little fairy-tale story?" she was still breathing hard but this time trying to hold back tears. This made absolutely no sense; everything was fine less than two days ago.

"No, it's because I am in love with someone else." Hannah closed her eyes in pain, Harry's quiet words driving like ice-picks in her gut. Without a word she turned her heel and ran back to the castle, scolding hot tears running down her frozen cheeks. Harry stood in the snow and nearly gave to the want to scream as hard as he could.

…**oo00oo…**

Peter thanked Hermione upon reaching the library door and entered the big room with a heavy heart. Harry said he was going to break up with Hannah, and last night Peter was all for the idea, but that was of course before he met the actual person. He sat heavily in a random chair and hoped with all his might that things will go smooth between Harry and Hannah, without too much pain on either side.

A noise from the door caught his attention and he watched as Susan walked in, head held high, heading to the corner that was furthest from Peter. Peter sighed and slid lower in his own chair, just marvellous.

"Good morning, Mr. Pevensie, good morning Miss Pevensie, if you'll be so kind as to join us?" Peter lifted his gaze to the twinkling blue eyes of the headmaster and immediately straightened in his chair, smoothing his tie over. Susan came over to his table reluctantly and sat down, face turned away.

"Good morning, sir." They both mumbled together.

"Since you're both temporarily stranded here and since it _is_ a school, I believe the best elucidation would be to put you two to study." Dumbledore dove in without much preparation. Jolly great, thought Susan with a mental huff, more schooling. She shot a nasty look at Peter even though she knew he wasn't looking at her. "But before we start, there is a little test I'd like to conduct. Would you two please stand up?" Peter and Susan moved mechanically to their feet, drifting closer until they stood side by side in front of the old man, Dumbledore pulled his wand out and waved it over them, muttering something under his breath. Without warning Peter felt like hundreds of ants were crawling all over his skin and he started fidgeting uncomfortably on the spot. Dumbledore lowered his wand and just like that the prickly feeling was over and left Peter scratching absently at his arm. "Well, well, well, this is most curious." The old man was muttering as if to himself,

"Sir, is everything alright?" Peter couldn't help but ask, he desperately wanted to know what that prickly feeling was but thought it rude to ask,

"Oh, everything is fine, you see my dear boy, it seems that you have a magical signature." Dumbledore informed him with a bright smile,

"I have a what?"

"You're a wizard Peter." For a long time Peter simply blinked at the headmaster trying to understand the words that refused to make coherence in his brain, when Susan cried out,

"He's a _what_? You want to tell me that _he_ is a bloody wizard and I'm not? Oh, this is just _wonderful_!" she turned savagely to the dumbstruck Peter, nostrils flaring with rage, "First you drag me to this god awful place…"

"I didn't drag you anywhere!" Peter protested weakly, too shocked to put real anger behind his words, "You came on your own." Susan's face was beet red, her eyes bulging in her rage,

"I was trying to stop you from making things worse!" she yelled so loud that Madame Pince rushed over, nearly shaking with suppressed glee about to indulge in one of her favourite activities, throwing busybody and noisy students out of her precious library, and stopping dead on her tracks at the sight of the headmaster, a most disappointed look forming her hawk-like features.

"You're just jealous!" Peter returned with a matching passion. Arguments in the Pevensie household were a routine occurrence and if you were to ask Edmund and Lucy about it they'd wear a tiered look and advise you to clear off the way until Peter and Susan ran out of steam.

"Children, calm down now." Dumbledore didn't even raise his voice, nor did he lose the smile on his face but Peter and Susan suddenly gulped and fell silent.

"Sir, how…" Peter didn't dare glance at Susan, "How is it possible for me to be a wizard?" Dumbledore gestured to the chairs around the table and the two teenagers sat down. Madam Pince, upon realizing that the headmaster has, once again, managed to get hold of the situation, drifted back to her desk, vowing to throw the couple of new and reckless students as soon as Dumbledore leaves.

"You seem to be what we call a muggle-born, Peter, A wizard or a witch who is born to muggle parents." He explained and then added in an aftermath, "Muggles are none magical folk."

"I know." The Pevensie siblings answered in unison. Dumbledore hid his smile in his beard.

"But sir, how come I didn't know of it earlier?" Peter asked, his face quite angst, this was so perplexing, so… unbelievable.

"It is a rather curious affair, as a matter of fact," Dumbledore said in a grave voice, "But you see, the war had just broken in the muggle world when you were to enter this school and Armando Dippet, who was headmaster at the time decided to pursue the pure and half-blood students rather than the muggle-born ones. Sadly we missed out a lot of talented and promising wizards and witches at the time as a result of that and I suspect you might have been one of them." Peter's mouth dropped open in shock and Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at him, eyes twinkling and moustache twitching.

"Are you saying that I should have…"

"Been a student here fifty years ago, yes." The elderly headmaster finished for the stunt youth, "It was a rather curious time, you know, I was the transfiguration teacher at the time," he told them, with a thin mist in his eyes as he remembered, "Quite interesting students and events at the time… I recall one student in particular, his name was Tom…"

"Sir, please," Peter cut through Dumbledore's stroll down memory lane, face full of anxiety, "What does it all mean?" This was far too confusing, arriving at the castle in search of Harry only to find out that he was meant to reach here much, _much_ sooner. Nothing seemed to add up anymore and Peter felt his head spin with the information, the possibilities, and the whole idea.

"It means I would like to train you, young Mr. Pevensie."

"Train me?" Peter said weakly, next to him he could almost feel Susan going deeper and deeper into her cloudy mood and feared the lash of the storm isn't much far ahead.

"Your magical signature is a little weak for a boy your age, and I believe it's because of the lack of practice. I shall owl Ollivander at once to come and fit you with a wand." He said briskly and made to move from his chair when the icy cold voice of Susan stopped him where he was,

"A wand?" she asked, Dumbledore nodded and Peter subconsciously edged his way furthest from the two, the storm is here, and the ice of her tone was only the first lightning to strike, "Oh, but that's just _fabulous_! What about me? What am I suppose to do while Peter is running around blasting bloody feathers?" Her voice was level and acidic and Peter gulped when he saw that even Dumbledore was taken back by the depth of Susan's wrath. For a moment Peter saw two colossal forces collide, one a roll of angry storm clouds complete with lightning flashing and the other a sun, smiley and hot. But Susan, scary as she might be, was no match for the years of training Dumbledore had in dealing with angsty and mood-ridden teenagers,

"That, my dear child, is entirely up to you. You have a choice, you can either aid Peter in his studies, help him learn the theory behind the practice, or you could continue you own studies as best as Hogwarts library can provide you," needless to say Susan didn't look too happy with either choice but she refrained from commenting, deciding to unleash her anger on Peter once they were alone, at least that opponent she knew. "If you will excuse me, children, you have a lot to think about and I have an urgent owl to send. I shall see you in a while." And with those parting words the headmaster left Peter to the good will of a raging Susan.


	5. With a little help from my friends

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Five- With a little help from my Friends**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Harry is misjudging a dumped girl's reaction and finds himself in a jam when his friends decided to take things into their own hands.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

Harry walked sombrely through the halls; officially he was due in Transfiguration class in fifteen minutes but couldn't actually bring himself to sit through two mind-numbingly boring hours and being pestered by Ron and Hermione, and probably everyone else in Gryffindor about Peter. He wondered whether it would be safe to go to the library, Dumbledore might be there which would be quite awkward, but even worse is the fact that Susan most defiantly be there and that was potentially dangerous.

"Psst, Potter." Harry turned his head to see who is calling his name when a second later he found himself being shoved unceremoniously into the nearest broom closet.

"Pansy," he said with a slight smile, "Lovely to see you as well." He added while rubbing the sore spot on his arm, where her vise-like grip no doubt left bruises.

"What the hell did you say to your little Hufflepuff bint?" She asked angrily, her stance and face set in a no-nonsense sort of way that made Harry want to find Hannah and slap her hard across the face, whatever is was that she said,

"What do you mean?"

"Why is the entire school under the impression that you fancy me?" Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance, yes, defiantly a slap, maybe even a fist-punch thrown in for good measure.

"Oh, bullocks!" He cursed loudly and Pansy crossed her arms over her chest looking ready to kill, "It's my fault I guess. I told her I was in love with someone else and she must have assumed it was you because I called you Pansy and not "That Slytherin cow"." Pansy raised an eyebrow at that description and Harry smiled sheepishly,

"Charming, now fix it! I have a reputation to maintain, I can't be known as Potter's secret crush!" Harry sighed and slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor looking even more morose than he did before,

"What would you have me say? That I'm in love with a boy? Peter can barely admit it to himself." This was bad, very bad. Once again, in the grand tradition of being Harry Potter and a Gryffindor he rushed into things headlong without an ounce of thought about the consequences. He was so eager to make a clean break with Hannah so he could be free for Peter that he didn't contemplate the fact that a dumped, heart-broken and hurt girl is nothing to take lightly. Pansy looked down at her friend and felt her anger ebbing away, this was probably not an easy situation for Harry, not by any measure.

"Coming out probably isn't the brightest idea." She said quietly and took a seat next to Harry on the floor, knees gathered under her chin.

"How do magical folk accept gays?" Pansy blinked at the unexpected question; surely Potter should know most everything about being a wizard by now. Perhaps the rumours about him being a complete muggle until the age of eleven are true after all.

"They don't," She finally said, and proceeded to explain further, "A lot of what the wizarding world is based on is continuity of blood lines. It's bad enough that we let our blood get mixed with the likes of Granger. Accepting Homosexuality is admitting failure. Gays and lesbians don't reproduce, therefore they're a waste." Harry gaped at her in disgust,

"And you actually believe all that rot?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe, you asked what the magical community thinks and I told you." They both sat and contemplated the words in silence for a while. Harry felt like his head was about to explode, between the sob story that was his life and the new revelation that on top of it all he's also a fag he felt like plunging head first into the lake and forgo the gillyweed this time round.

"Is it a crime? Will I be sent to Azkaban for being queer? Peter said that 50 years ago homosexuality was a punishable crime." Pansy huffed and shook her head,

"Honestly, muggles! No one is going to toss you in Azkaban for shagging Peter rotten." She informed Harry with a sly smile,

"Muggles are talking about legalizing gay marriage now." He informed her, a shadow of a smile playing in the corners of his lips; Pansy looked at him like he was mad,

"Now that can't be good now can it?" She rose to her feet and started pacing the length of the closet, she was more disturbed than she had right to be, thought Harry, after all she's not the one who's going to have to face the world and being pegged as a freak when the shit hit the fan. "Are you serious about this? Can't you see what's going to happen? This new marriage thing will drive all the gay wizards and witches to go muggle. It'll destroy our world!" she cried, wildly flanging her arms to make her point.

"The wizarding world is already destroying itself with everything Voldemort is doing." Harry said quietly and tried to ignore the shudder that ran through Pansy in hearing the name. The Slytherin girl stopped her pacing and lifted a hand at Harry,

"Ok, stop! No politics, please. This closet isn't big enough for a duel," Harry looked at her and simply shrugged as if to say, you brought it up not me. Pansy narrowed her eyes and curled her upper lip, "So tell me, wonder boy," she said with a smirk, Harry rose to his feet as well and leaned against the closet's door,

"Tell you what?"

"Everything!" She exploded taking Harry by surprise, "You don't expect me to believe you didn't jump Peter's bones the first opportunity you got!" Harry gave her half a smile in return and Pansy's face fell, "You didn't, did you?"

"I did jump him, but we only snogged," He said before she could go on a tirade about it, "He said I have to choose between him and Hannah."

"Well, you dropped the witless Hufflepuff, what's stopping you?" Pansy looked thoroughly excited by the idea, which made Harry chuckle,

"The fact I haven't seen Peter since breakfast, maybe?"

"You will though, won't you?"

"What see him? I expect so; we do share a dorm after all." He answered as innocently as he could and tried to stifle a smile at the fact that Pansy looked like she's about to smack him one across the head,

"Shag him!" she nearly yelled and Harry dropped the act and sighed deep,

"It's not that simple." He said and sank down to the floor again, Pansy rolled her eyes in annoyance and dropped to the floor as well, sitting cross-legged in front of Harry,

"It's sex, Harry, it's not that complicated either." She said in a soft voice and put a comforting hand on Harry's knee.

"What would you know?" He mumbled and she hooked her finger under his chin, forcing him to look up,

"Obviously more than you, I'm not the virgin one around here, Potter." They shared a small smile,

"So, I take it the rumours about you and the ferret are true then." At that Pansy slapped his arm lightly,

"Don't call him that! Draco has a lot of virtues, both in girth and length." She added with a satisfied little smirk and Harry dramatically covered his ears with his palms,

"Oh, man, I did _not_ need to hear that!" he cried amide the laughter filling the small space.

"You shouldn't have asked, then." She said briskly and then leaned forward conspiratorially, "Besides, I thought you'd appreciate the information, you _are_ into blonds after all, aren't you?"

"I don't care how blond Malfoy is," Harry raised his finger at her to deliver his point; "_Nothing_ would make me think he's sexy!"

"Lucky me, then." Pansy remarked dryly. They shared another small smile and another lengthy pause,

"I'm really sorry you got caught in all this mess with Hannah."

"No biggy, you know how envy half the girls in school would be of me if they thought I was your secret crush?"

"Not so secret anymore, I guess." Harry sighed heavily and scratched absently at his knee, "I honestly never thought Hannah would do something like this." Pansy snorted in amusement,

"Well, no wonder you're a poof. I hate to break to you Potter, but a dumped girl is a girl out for blood, Hufflepuff or not." She informed Harry and it only served to make him look more dejected than before, maybe what he needs _is_ a boy, Merlin knows he managed to botch every single heterosexual relationship he ever had, she mused. For a fleeting second she saw herself as the Potter guide to the head of the straight woman, and the thought made her smile,

"Speaking of, how is Susan doing?" Pansy raised a suspicious eyebrow at him,

"Do you really care or are you asking for your boyfriend's sake?" Harry shrugged in return,

"Does it matter?"

"Guess not. She was a little hysterical yesterday so Dumbledore sent her to see Madame Pomfrey, but since she's a muggle there wasn't much she could do so she knocked her up." Harry gaped in surprise,

"She _hit _her?"

"Wouldn't you love it if she did?" Pansy said with a smirk which grew when she caught the little wistful look that crossed Harry's eyes before he managed to suppress it. "No, she pointed her wand at Susan and sent her to sleep. I had to spend the entire night in the Hospital Wing as well."

"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly and placed a hand on Pansy's shoulder looking guilt ridden, Pansy smiled,

"Don't be. I like the little wench. Now that I don't hate you myself anymore, I just live it through her." With the hand on her shoulder Harry shoved her back slightly and rolled his eyes,

"Gee, thanks."

"Anytime, Harry." She replied with a million galleon smile, before glancing at her wristwatch and crying out, "Oh, Merlin's balls! Will you look at the time? We're going to be seriously late for Transfiguration and McGonagall is going to transfigure us into knickknacks to put on her mantle and you know what that means!" She hoisted Harry to his feet and opened the closet door, pulling him into the corridor after her,

"No, what?" He panted as they ran through the corridors,

"A lifetime of looking at tartan wallpaper! Now run!"

…**oo00oo…**

It's been nearly ten minutes since Dumbledore stalked off to send his letter, the silence in the library was so perpetual and deep it could have given Madame Pince an orgasm. Peter dimmed he could hear the seconds ticking away like little explosions. Just like back home, he thought ruefully. Susan hadn't said a word, or even moved since the headmaster left but Peter wasn't fooled, he knew she was mad, no, furious with him and the rest of the Hogwarts populace.

Peter could understand her, poor Susan; she didn't even want to be here in the first place and now, on top of everything else she has to find out that I'm a wizard… _I'm_ a wizard… a _wizard_, the thought suddenly hit him like a tone of bricks- a wizard, like Harry. Someone who can do magic, flick a wand and say silly stuff and things would happen! Peter felt the urge to lean is head backward and let out an evil mad laughter, this is just too weird. He chanced a side-glance at Susan and the way her jaw was set was enough to kill the urge to laugh. Peter sighed and gathered all his courage,

"Susan," Before he could say anything further, she turned to face him, a wild hatred and fury flaming bright in her eyes and Peter cringed backwards,

"Shut up!" she hissed venomously, "I don't ever want to talk to you again!" Her face was flushed and her frame shaking and Peter wondered if she might hit him, he gulped and reached a tentative hand towards her, but Susan would have none of that and she slapped his hand away sharply, "What? What do you want from me, Peter?" Her voice remained quiet and caustic and Peter lowered his eyes, excepting the reprimand and admitting his guilt, which only served to vex Susan further,

"The entire world is bend at your will, hell, _three_ worlds! Mother looks up to you to take dad's place, Aslan gave you command of his bloody armies and now Dumbledore is going to make you a wizard! And what have _you_ done to deserve any of this? _Nothing_! You neglected your duties to Ed and Lu, never once thinking about the danger you put us all in just because you were bored and wanted an adventure, and now you've gone and fallen in love, with a _boy_! And on top of all, we're stuck here, because of _you_!"

"I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…" he mumbled, but Susan wasn't done, not by a long shot, her voice grew louder, harsher and thick with tears,

"As well you bloody should be! 'You have a choice, my dear child', pah! Some choice! It's always about you, you, _you_! I'm the good girl here, I'm the one trying to keep things together, and I'm bloody well tiered of picking up after your mess and I hate the fact that no matter what I do Ed and Lu will always look up to _you_! I'm so furious with you right now, Peter Pevensie, I could just…" Before Susan could deliver her threat to Peter's well being, Madame Pince, the old librarian swooped down on them,

"Well, excuse me!" she cried with a scandalized voice, "This is a library, not a saloon!" Susan turned her wild eyes at her, barely seeing her,

"Shut up! Shut up, all of you! Leave me alone!" She shrieked and turned away, running from the library door, hands clasped tight over her ears and eyes streaming with tears. Peter and Madame Pince looked after her in complete and silent shock for a long moment, before Peter turned his eyes up to look at the librarian. Madame Pince's eyes narrowed maliciously and Peter rose immediately, pale and slightly shaking and gave her the best smile he could managed before starting to edge his way to the door,

"Hmm, I'll just be… on my way then…" and fled out of the door in top speed.

…**oo00oo…**

Susan ran what felt like the entire length of the castle, she could barely see where she was going because the tears were obscuring her view. She was determined to put as much distance as she possible could between her and the cursed castle. Damn you Peter, damn you to hell and back. You and your stupid lover and your new gift of magic and just damn you!

Susan flung herself on the great doors pushing them back and running outside, to her right she could make out the shape of a large lake and on the opposite shore trees, a huge forest looming ahead. Susan directed her steps towards the trees seeking solitude and quiet and slumped under the nearest tree, breath coming out in chocking sobs and nose and eyes still streaming. It took her a few minutes to get her breathing back under control and then she took a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her face clean. Susan allowed herself a minute longer to indulge in her misery before she began to think, plan and plot her return to Narnia, with or without Peter.

"Hello there, what are you doing here all alone?" Susan didn't even lift her head to look at the new comer before growling in annoyance,

"Go away, leave me alone!"

"Now, now, that's no way to talk to a fellow house-mate," Susan looked up to meet a pair of the most beautiful, intense and shrewd grey eyes she ever seen and scrambled to her feet, trying to right her skirt and tie in the process, "What year are you anyway?" The boy asked, "I don't remember ever seeing you down in the common room." Susan bristled again,

"I'm not your fellow house-mate," She snapped, "I don't belong here; it's all a huge mistake!" The boy smiled, a thin humourless smile,

"Ah, you're the new girl; you're friends with Pansy and have a brother in Gryffindor." His eyes racked over Susan dishevelled form looking almost disgusted, "How tasteless." He remarked almost to himself. Susan gulped and was struck with an image of a slippery snake, ready to strike. She backed a few steps away from the boy,

"What do you want from me?" The boy's smile grew into a sneer and Susan could almost hear the rattle of tail scales, before the sneer turned into a haughty smile and the snake image vanished. The boy extended a hand,

"My name is Draco, and I just want to help. What is your name?"

"Susan." She answered without taking the proffered hand, but Draco didn't seem in the least bit upset.

"Well, Susan, let's go inside and warm up and you can tell me _everything_." He gave her another winning smile and she found herself attracted to his almost animal-like magnetism, she's never met a boy his age that was so sure of himself. Even though he frightened her a little she had a feeling he would understand her pain far better than any of the other Peter-awed would.

"Alright, I suppose." She said slowly and tried to smile, Draco moved to place a comforting hand over her shoulder and she was almost surprised to find it warm. They started making their way back towards the castle when a cry pierced the air around them,

"Malfoy, you sneaky ferret, stay away from her!" Draco tensed and froze on the spot and Susan looked up to see Harry running towards them, looking rumpled and worried. When he reached the couple Harry stopped and panted, holding his side, "Stay away from her," he repeated with a low, dangerous voice, "Come on Susan, let's go."

"Why should I go with you?" She asked annoyed. Oh, jolly, Peter sent the cavalry after me…

"Susan, please," Harry tried to plea, it's been a long morning and he just spent the last twenty minutes running all over the castle, trying to find the missing Susan before Peter would break down completely with worry and angst, only to find her strolling around the lake with none other than Draco Malfoy! Harry had no idea how much Susan already told him, but he knew well enough that in her current state of mind she might just tell him everything and then all hell would break loose.

"Potter, is this ugly scar on your head impairing your hearing as well as your sight? She doesn't want to go with you." Malfoy drawled, he was thoroughly enjoying the situation. Potter looked like he was ready to drag Susan kicking and screaming away from him and Susan looked ready to fight him for it.

"Shut up, git. This is none of your business." Harry huffed in annoyance,

"Hey, don't go all homicidal on me just because you had a little tiff with your girlfriend." Draco drawled with his trademark smirk on, he didn't really care why Susan was upset, but if she could get Potter in such a state, he was all for it.

"Malfoy, back off, I'm warning you…"

"What are you going to do?" Draco's tone remained lazy but in a flash his wand was in his hand, the same second Potter wand was in his. The two rivals faced each other, measuring the situation, wand-tips pointed at each other's hearts. Susan looked at the scene in front of her and felt the unbelievable urge to slap them both across the head, boys will never change, she thought, not in a million years.

She stepped forward and before either Harry or Draco could move she grabbed a wand in each hand and plunked them out of their owner's hands. The boys stood gaping stupidly at her, not in all the history of Hogwarts was an impending duel was stopped in such a manner.

"So that's what all the fuss is about?" Susan said, running her fingers on the smooth wooden surface of the wands, "Looks like two ordinary pieces of wood, what if I was to… break them?" her lip curled in a little vicious smile as the boys reached forward and fearfully cried out in unison,

"NO!" Susan's little smile vanished and she pointed the wands at Harry who subconsciously backed a step or two from her,

"I don't feel like talking to you, or my brother, _ever again_! So the two of you can just leave me the hell alone," she didn't even bothered to raise her voice anymore, and Harry was caught in the fierceness of her stare and could do little more than nod, when he heard a voice cry from behind him,

"Susan!" Harry closed his eyes, as if in pain when he recognised Peter's voice, Susan's cold eyes turned to her brother who skidded to a halt next to Harry, nearly hiding behind him,

"Well, well, if it isn't the new 'Boy Wonder'… Stay. Away. From me, Peter!" she cried exasperatedly before turning towards Draco, who for the first time in his life found a muggle he might actually respect,

"Draco thank you for the sympathy, but no thanks." Draco looked at her in amazement, this must be what they call love… Susan looked at the wands again and then tossed them on the ground in disgust, turned on her heel and stormed back towards the castle, leaving three perplexed boys in her wake.

"Is she PMSing or something?" Draco asked without taking his eyes from Susan's retreating back,

"I don't know, she's been this way since I met her." Harry answered before he could stop himself. They both blinked and looked at each other, the cold expressions of hatred taking their place again, and both called out at the same time,

"Accio wand." The wands flew back each to its owner and then Draco tossed his head back and started stalking to the castle, leaving Harry and Peter standing in the middle of the vast lawn alone.

"Who was that?" Peter asked curiously as he looked over his shoulder after the blond,

"Nobody, come on, let's go." Harry said in a tiered voice, turning to the castle as well, Peter shrugged and followed,

"I take it Susan doesn't want to talk to you either," He said gravely, "I'm a little afraid for her, I've never seen her so angry before."

"I just hope Pansy can sort her out." They walked in silence for a while when Harry turned to Peter, "What was Susan on about with the new boy wonder thing?"

"Oh, yes, that's what I came to tell you actually," Peter said in a cheerful voice, "You see, it turns out that I'm a wizard." A few paces further he suddenly noticed he was walking alone and turned to see Harry planted in the middle of the path, jaw dropped in shock,

"You're what?"

"A wizard, like you. You know, swish, flick, feathers, boom." Peter smiled a little nervously; surely Harry would be glad that he's going to stay in Hogwarts, right?

"You're not supposed to blow the feathers up; you're supposed to levitate them." He said weakly, rubbing his face in confusion,

"Hmm, yes, that would probably make more sense." The two boys looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"So, you're a wizard then," Peter nodded and pulled out a wand from his pocket, presenting it to Harry, who took the wooden strip in awe, turning it between his fingers like he'd never seen a wand before, "Holly…"

"Maple, actually, 11 ½'', unicorn hair." Peter announced proudly,

"Well then, show us what it can do." Harry trusted the wand back in Peter's hand, brushing their fingers together in encouragement, prompting Peter. Peter fingered his wand nervously,

"Um, I can't really do anything yet…" he explained sheepishly, "Dumbledore said he want's to train me."

"Train you? As what?" Peter shrugged,

"I don't know, your guess is as good as mine, I suppose. He mentioned something about contacting Lupin to tutor me." Peter rolled the name slowly on his tongue, wondering who Lupin might be when Harry's eyes popped open in shock,

"Remus is coming here? For real?" Peter nodded, "Oh, you're the luckiest bastard! Lupin is only the best teacher ever!" Harry cried out, eyes shining with ecstasy and Peter was quite amazed to feel a little pang of jealousy. He quashed it soon enough and smiled back, well, at least that was good news. The last thing Peter wanted at this point was to disappoint the trust Dumbledore put in him, having the best teacher ever would probably make things easier. They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes more when Peter lifted his head and realized that instead of walking towards the castle they're actually walking away from it,

"Harry, where are we heading?" he asked and Harry shrugged,

"You'll see." Peter was a little startled by the strange flash crossing Harry's eyes but thought better than to object, after all, they are alone and he did endure eight long months just to see Harry again, and even more than that, to _feel_ Harry again. Before long they arrived to a big pitch covered with sand. On each side of the pitch were three big poles about 50 feet up in the air ending with a golden ring each.

Peter wondered idly what sort of game was played here, especially when the stands and the poles were so high up, but the thought was pushed quite effectively out of his brain when Harry dragged him under one of the stands and pinned him against the wood supports, his mouth descending hard on Peter's sealing in a heated kiss. Peter responded to the kiss immediately, this was such bliss, just like coming home after a hard day and finding your favourite meal cooked specially for you. Harry's hands roamed the length of Peter's back, coming to rest on the delicate swell of his arse, while Peter's hands tangled themselves in the impossibly messy silk of Harry's hair. When they finally emerged back up for air they were both flushed and panting, smiling fondly at each other.

"Merlin, I've missed you so much." Harry whispered and Peter felt his cheeks turning a brighter shade of pink at the words.

"Me too." He whispered back before bringing their lips together again. This time round they took the opportunity to explore each other's mouths thoroughly, the slow dance of tongues was matched by the slow strokes of hands over clothes and exposed skin. It was so perfect, so beautiful like they were the only people in the world, no Dumbledore or Malfoy and certainly no Susan.

…**oo00oo…**

By dinner time the word had reached every last student in the castle that Harry Potter has a crush on Pansy Parkinson. Most of the students passed it out as normal gossip and moved to juicier things but the Gryffindor sixth years would not. It was unheard of that their hero and role-model would drop a perfectly good relationship with a sweet Hufflepuff in favour of a sneaky, slippery Slytherin!

And so Harry, much to his dismay, found that once again, he's become the focus point of his friends and well-wishers and that meant a lot of meddling in their part, and a severe headache in his.

Once dinner was over Harry managed to escape to his dorm room. He perched himself on the wide window ledge and looked outside at the snow slowly falling. He thought back on his little talk with Pansy, who said it wouldn't be wise to come out to the whole school and then to the kisses he and Peter shared under the stands. This memory made him smile wistfully and even blush a little, he loved Peter, this he knew for sure. No matter what the others might through at him, he knew who and why he loved and that was enough for the moment.

What Harry didn't bank on was the fact that his friends were genuinely concerned for his mental health and they decided to take matters into their own hands. Before Harry could relax by the window he heard the bubble of voices coming up the stairs. He sighed and breached himself for the worst, which didn't take long to come in the form of the entire sixth year of Gryffindor strengthen with Ginny spilled into the room looking resourceful and firm. To his slight horror Harry spotted Peter amongst the group but when the blond sent him a worried and confused look Harry realized the poor boy was probably dragged up here against his will. The nine Gryffindors turned to face Harry with arms crossed, and after a little nudge from Lavender, Peter crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Hello." Harry said as politely as he could, trying to stifle the laughter that was bubbling inside him, this was plain ridiculous and he had a pretty good idea who stood behind this new development (if only by the uncomfortable looks on the boys' faces and the set, narrow-eyed glares of the girls).

"Harry, we have come to discuss a severe matter that concern you." Hermione said gravely while the others nodded. Harry contemplated playing dumb for a second, but he really didn't have the energy to put up with his pesky friends and he decided to end the torture as soon as possible,

"I do not have a crush on Parkinson," He declared firmly and noted the slight easing up on his friends' stance. "I did break up with Hannah but that has nothing to do with Pansy." A gasp ran through the group and Harry sighed again, you'd think I said Voldemort or something, he thought bitterly,

"You called her Pansy!" Parvati shrieked,

"Yes, that is her name."

"You're not supposed to call her Pansy, she's an enemy!" Cried out Ron, whose view of the world was so straight forward and plain it was rather vexing at times.

"She's not _my _enemy!" Harry retorted in anger but before this could turn into a fight, Hermione stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder,

"We're just worried about you, Harry. And we want to help." She said soothingly,

"Then I'd appreciate it if you'll just butt out of my business." He snapped. A short snort of laughter caused everyone to wheel around and look at Seamus,

"Sorry, mate," he said with a smile, "Since when did anyone left you to your business?" Harry sighed and turned back to the window, a clear sign the conversation was over. Unfortunately for him, Gryffindors were not to be dissuade so easily. He watched, fascinated, as the girls conjured big fluffy looking cushions placing them in a circle in the middle of the room. The assembled teens seated themselves comfortably,

"What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously,

"We're going to find you a new girlfriend." Ginny informed him with a wide smile,

"You're demented!" he exclaimed, Lavender turned a piercing gaze at him,

"You have to understand Harry, we as a house have a reputation to maintain and no self-respecting Gryffindor would willingly consort with Slytherins." At that the eight Gryffindors around the circle turned an accusing glare at Seamus,

"One time, one bloody time and you're branded for life!" He complained loudly, "And besides, you can hardly call Tracy Davis a proper Slytherin, now can you?" Harry burst out laughing,

"You're nutters, the lot of you!" The group ignored him and he turned to the window with a huff, nutters!

"Well, since his last conquest was a Hufflepuff, perhaps we should stay in the vicinity, how about Susan Bones?" Ron offered generously when a small squeak was heard, "Hmm, right, sorry Nev." The redhead ducked his head blushing as the others sniggered into their hands.

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to shut the voices down, this was completely ludicrous. He couldn't very well tell them the real reason he broke up with Hannah, could he? Harry chanced a glace toward Peter to find the latter's eyes fixed on him, he shrugged helplessly and Peter gave him a sad half smile. This was an unspoken agreement between them to keep quiet at the matter, but little did the pair know how difficult it would prove to be.

**

* * *

A/N: Thank you stitchpotter626 for the brilliant Remus idea. **


	6. Get Harry a Girl

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Six- Get Harry a Girl**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Operation "Get Harry a girl" is well under way and both Harry and Peter are slowly sinking into depression until something gives.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

The next couple of weeks were nothing short of chaotic for poor Peter. His days alternated between long library periods in which he sat and read heavy tomes and constantly pinched himself to stay awake and practical sessions that were mentally and physically exhausting yet extremely rewarding.

Susan, despite her initial frenzy decided to help Peter. She claimed that family should stick together and that the success or failure of Peter projects directly on her and the good Pevensie name, but secretly Peter had a sneaking suspicion that the reason Susan changed her mind had a lot to do with how good looking his new tutor was. Not that Peter noticed himself, of course…

Another thing Peter learned, at the "small" cost of his relationship was that Gryffindors were not only a bunch of one-tracked minds but also stubborn as hell. Once they got an idea planted in their brains nothing short of complete "obliviate" would make them change their mind. And unfortunately what they set their minds on at the moment was finding Harry a new girlfriend.

As operation "Get Harry Shagged", as Seamus playfully dabbed it, progressed Peter felt more and more insecure. He watched in dread as what seemed to be every single girl in the castle (who wasn't a Slytherin, of course, or under the age of 14 at Hermione's insistence) had a go at _his_ Harry. He was fairly certain that Harry wouldn't cheat on him, and indeed the raven haired boy studiously found flaws in every one of his proposed girlfriends and rejected them after the mandatory twenty minutes "date"- which was more of a chat to detect what was wrong with the girl in order to report back to his "friends", but there was always that smidgen of doubt in Peter's mind that one of these days Harry will find a girl that would suit his needs more than Peter ever could.

The main problem was that Peter could hardly find a time to catch Harry on his own, and the unrelenting nagging of the Gryffindors left Harry on a constant verge of anger. Harry's flaming nature that could hardly be contained under normal circumstances was rapidly turning to borderline dangerous. The only times Peter managed to snug Harry to himself was when the latter crawled into his bed late at night when all the others were already sleeping, too tiered and sad to say or do anything more than snuggle against Peter for comfort and warmth. Peter knew all too well that this ticking bomb was just waiting to explode, he only hoped there would be no physical casualties when this mess would go pear shaped- Ron and the others had told him many a scary tale of Harry's magic getting out of hand when he was finally pushed over the edge.

Peter studiously avoided the Gryffindor tower girls, he had little sympathy to those who are trying to take his love away from him, besides, the amount of giggling that went on there was frightening even the other boys. As for the boys, the only one Peter actually made a connection with, apart from chess games with Ron was Seamus because the Irish boy seemed to be the only one amongst them not completely bent on the whole "Finding Harry a Girl" fest. Besides, it was hard not to like the bubbly, sparkly personality of Seamus, and Peter found out he had a little fetish for the brogue as well.

The inevitable explosion occurred three weeks later. Nothing on that Wednesday morning predicted the end of that day, as Harry and his mates got up and about on their business just like any other day. Breakfast passed calmly enough, with only a handful of remarks about who should Harry take to Hogsmede on the upcoming Valentine's Day that Saturday. After breakfast Peter met up with Susan at the empty classroom they used for practicing, she seemed rather quiet that morning, pensive even. Peter didn't much notice until professor Lupin rushed in ten minutes late for class, apologising forcefully and repeatedly and looking deliciously dishevelled.

At the sight of the older man Susan blushed a brilliant shade of magenta, and Peter suddenly realized in a horrified fascination that Susan was smitten. Completely. The new found knowledge amused Peter to no end, never would he have guessed that Susan could fall for an older guy. Or was it only Remus Lupin that brought it to be? Whatever the reason was Peter found it extremely hard to concentrate on his classes that day as he kept watching for Susan's reactions at every turn. She was doing her best not to blush whenever Lupin looked at her direction and Peter could have sworn she was scribbling little hearts and Valentines in her notebook rather than what she was suppose to. Peter contemplated stealing the page and sending it anonymously to Lupin, if only to get back at Susan for all the harsh words she said to Harry back in Narnia.

By dinner time, Peter was unusually chipper while Susan was scolding, the reason being that professor Lupin informed Peter that his progress was nothing short of phenomenal and that had he desired Peter could join the sixth year regular class in charms. Peter could hardly wait to tell Harry the news, the thought of spending an entire class with Harry, being able to sit next to him, practice with him, do homework with him was in Peter's eyes the best scenario possible- since he couldn't tell anyone or do anything about having Harry all to himself that is.

When he reached the Great Hall he got the first whiff of trouble. At the Gryffindor table sat a cross and solemn Harry, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione who were buzzing in his ear. But Peter realized that the count down on the bomb was nearing its end when Harry didn't even lift his head to smile at him when he greeted the table. Peter did the only thing he could to save his loved one and promptly engaged Ron in a conversation- Hermione freaked him to the core and even Harry's obvious distress couldn't change that.

After dinner the students returned to their respective common rooms for an evening of doing homework, playing chess and cards, chit-chatting or just lounging around their common room with their friends. The lions all turned to the north tower and slowly settled for their evening activities. Harry and Ron were nearly bodily dragged by Hermione to sit at one of the tables and work on some assignment or other while Peter sat on the floor in front of the fire for a lively game of exploding snap. Much to his delight, Peter, who never actually played any kind of snap before found he was in fact quite good in it and could even challenge the "Snap King" Dean.

Peter silently counted the minutes away trying to figure out when the hammer would fall and the questions would begin. It seemed that lately it's been all he could think of.

Sure enough, after less than an hour Ron, thoroughly fed up with homework, decided to break off the only way he knew that would enable him to do so without having Hermione pulling out her claws,

"So, Harry, who are you taking to Hogsmede on Valentine's Day?" Both Harry's and Hermione's heads snapped up, Harry's glare was of pure venom and flame, Hermione's was curious and only slightly reproachful,

"Ron, he's going to take Laura Madley from Hufflepuff, we've already decided that, remember?" She said in a curt voice giving Ron a sanctimonious semi-glare,

"No, _you_ and the other girls decided that, _I_ said that we should stay clear from Hufflepuffs, being a little too close to home and all. _We_ suggested Su Li from Ravenclaw!" He tossed back with a cold yet heated tone, Hermione hardly seemed fazed by any of this,

"Do you honestly think, my dearest Ronald that Harry would go for an Asian girl again? Once scorched and all…" She replied cynically, referring to the disastrous crush Harry had on Cho Chang during the fourth year,

"He does not like Hufflepuffs!" While this argument started to gather heat Harry sat in his chair and felt how the temperature of his blood was raising proportionally to the heat of the tones. He wanted to scream and protest that there was no way he was about to take some random girl he couldn't give a toss about to Hogsmede on _Valentine's Day_!

After enduring this torture from his best friends no less for three whole weeks for the sake of Peter, Harry felt that he finally reached to his breaking point, and what a break it was…

"SHUT UP!" Ron and Hermione immediately ceased their argument and every eye on the room turned to the Boy who Lived, or rather Boy who was so Livid that the magic was cracking around him dangerously, and indeed within seconds every ink bottle in the room exploded, washing the stunned students with rivulets of multicoloured ink and glistening shards of glass. Hermione and Ron stared wide eyed and shocked faced- which were stained with black and red ink at Harry, never in all the time they knew the boy was his magic outburst directed at either of them. Harry took a deep breath and began to speak in a low menacing voice that carried out through the common room like a hiss,

"I. Don't. Fucking. Need. Your Help!" He said, accentuating every word, "For the last time- I'm not in love with Pansy Parkinson and I don't need you meddling idiots to find me a new girlfriend! Stay the fuck out of my life or I'm really going to get pissed!" With that he turned and stormed up the stairs to his dorms, leaving a roomful of stunned and dirty people at his wake. After a long silence Ron sighed and rose from his seat,

"I better go talk to him." He said in a slightly subdued voice, just as Peter scrambled to his feet as well,

"No, I'll go." He said quietly, trying to smother his own anger at Harry's supposed friends, Ron turned and gave the blond boy an ugly look,

"Excuse me? Who the bloody hell are _you_? I've been Harry's best mate for six years, you're just the new kid!"

"The new kid who's the only one Harry isn't pissed with at the moment." Seamus casually stated and gave Peter a little tilt of the head as if to say- go, I'll take care of this lot. So Peter did.

At the door sporting the number six on the top of the stairs he hesitated, was Harry the kind to blow his top up and then relax immediately or would he keep fuming and blowing things for hours more? What happened downstairs was impressive, because it looked almost casual for Harry, and was done wandlessly- something Peter knew for a fact even Hermione couldn't do. At long last he decided to trust his loved one and the knowledge that he didn't really do anything wrong. He raised his hand and knocked softly on the door,

"Fuck off, I don't want to talk to any of you!" Peter rested his forehead against the wood and sighed, clearly Harry was still fuming,

"Harry, please, it's me… let me in." He pleaded. The door suddenly burst opened and Harry snatched Peter in without a word, pinning him against the closed door and descending hard on his lips. The kiss caught Peter completely off guard and for a moment he froze. Harry, feeling the uncooperativeness of Peter, pulled back and looked at his boyfriend. Peter, seeing the stress and fear written all over Harry's face, leaned in to capture Harry's lips in a soft and loving kiss. Harry instantly melted into the kiss and Peter tried to blindly guide them to Harry's bed. They fell on the soft mattress in a tangle of limbs,

"This is just so fucked up," Harry whispered, burying his face in the crook of Peter's neck, "I'm going to come clean and tell them everything." Peter's frame tensed under his body,

"You can't."

"Why not? It'll make things easier." Harry argued, Peter shoved him back to arm length and looked at him long and hard,

"Do you honestly think that if your friends find out that you're really in love with a boy they would leave you alone?" Harry bit his lip and averted his eyes, why can't things be easier? Wasn't the truth suppose to set you free or something? He was tiered, of all the lies, of the need to hide and cover up for the one thing that actually made him happy, and then there were his friends, the people who were suppose to accept his choices and not judge him…

"What are we going to do?" He asked with a small voice, he was a the end of his rope and couldn't think of a single solution other the come out to his friends, but Pansy and Peter had been right, the truth isn't going to get him anywhere this time.

"I think you should tell them the truth," Harry looked up at his love, didn't he just say that they shouldn't do just that? "Not about us," Peter clarified quickly, "About Narnia."

"I already tried that, I told Hannah and look where it got me."

"You told Hannah right before you broke up with her, that hardly counts. Besides, she was never you friend, not like Ron is or Hermione." Harry sighed and rested his head on Peter's shoulder again, maybe Peter was right, maybe it would make things easier. At least he hoped it would.

They lay together, holding each other gently for a while until a hesitant knock was heard, Harry sighed and buried his face deeper into Peter's chest, he _really_ didn't want to face any of his friends at the moment.

"Hm, Harry, can we… hm, can we please come in?" Hermione's sheepish voice sounded muffled by the heavy door. Peter stroked Harry's hair softly and he lifted his head, Peter gave him a small kiss on his forehead and smiled at him encouragingly, Harry smiled back and rolled off Peter to sit next to him, leaning against the headboard as well.

"Yes, come in." He called with a sigh and the door opened to reveal Hermione's anxious face peering over the edge. She must have used a cleaning charm because her face was ink free. She entered the room and following close behind were Ron, Seamus, Neville, Parvati, Lavender, Dean and Ginny. The eight teens stood around Harry's bed looking shameful and shuffling their legs. Harry discovered he actually enjoyed his friends discomfort and therefore said nothing.

"Look, mate, we're sorry," Ron began in a small voice, not lifting his eyes to look at Harry,

"Yeah, man, that was totally uncalled for." Said Dean. Harry looked carefully at each of them, his best mates, the people he ought to trust.

"It's ok guys, just forget it. There's something I need to tell you." Their faces lit up instantly at the prospect of gossip and Harry nearly rolled his eyes. Quickly the others scrambled to sit on Harry's bed and the ones beside it. They all looked at him eagerly, like a bunch of kids gathered around a story teller.

"You all remember that day when Pan… I mean Parkinson and I fainted in potions?" Everyone except Ginny and Peter groaned in despair, it would take a while before people forgot what was known as the worst potions class _ever_. Harry smiled and continued, "Well, we didn't only faint, we were transported to another world." Eight sets of eyes blinked at him in confusion, waiting for further explanations. "We got to Narnia, and that's where we met Peter and Susan." All eyes automatically turned to Peter whose immediate reaction was to blush,

"Are you from this place, Narnia, was it?" Hermione asked and Peter shook his head,

"No, not really, I'm actually from Finchley."

"Finchley? As in London?" She enquired and he nodded, "Then how come you're a wizard and you've only arrived here three weeks ago?" Harry cast his boyfriend a side-glance, well the plot thickens…

"It's a little hard to explain but let's just say that I come from a different time."

"I don't understand." Said Ron bluntly and the others smiled, not that they understood more but it was always nice to have Ron to count on for asking the questions no one wanted to ask in case they sounded too dumb.

"I was born on March 11, 1926." Peter said levelly, and the others caught their breath,

"Well, you look smashing for your age then." Seamus winked at Peter and the latter let out a soft chuckle.

"My siblings and I were sent from London to the country side by our mother to protect us from The Blitz and there we discovered the entrance to Narnia by chance." He was about to explain the whole story with Lucy and Mr. Tumnus and the wardrobe but Harry cut in,

"Pansy and I met Peter and Susan and Edmund and Lucy in Narnia and there we had to fight the White Witch…" for the next half hour Peter and Harry told the fascinated Gryffindors all about their adventures in Narnia, from meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to Father Christmas and Aslan. They told of the battle against the White Witch and Aslan's sacrifice and of the mirror and the return home of Harry, followed by Peter's arrival- though they said not a word of the real reason that brought Peter to Hogwarts.

"Wow, that was one fantastic story!" Dean claimed once they were done and Seamus whooped in agreement.

"You believe us?" Harry asked cautiously,

"Of course." Seamus replied with earnest, and Hermione turned a suspicious gaze at him,

"Why?"

"Because," Seamus began to explain, "It makes perfect sense as to how Peter and Susan got here in the middle of February. Besides, this is Harry we're talking about and if there's one things I've learned about him in the last six years is that he never fibs. Even when things are a little hard to grasp." He said firmly and the others all ducked their heads in shame, remembering the whole mess back in fourth year that involved one Harry Potter and a goblet of fire. Harry sent a grateful smile at his Irish friend, who returned it with a small sly wink that left Harry wondering whether he knew more about his relationship with Peter than he was letting on. That would hardly surprise Harry to tell the truth, Seamus was always a very kin observer and could almost always tell a person's most secret desire.

Long after midnight the curiosity of the Gryffindors have been sated, even that of Hermione and they all turned to their beds for a well earned night sleep. Harry was very pleased with the new turn of events- he gained his friends' trust again and hopefully they will find the whole Narnia story far too interesting to remember the disastrous month before. That night he didn't creep to Peter's bed, both out of exhaustion and both because he didn't feel the need for comfort that night.

The sun filtered through big windows in the Gryffindor tower the next morning, hitting Harry square in the eye, since he forgot to close the curtains around his bed. He rolled over and grasped blindingly at the curtains, his eyes praying open painfully. When he manage to somewhat focus his bleary sight the first thing he saw was the sleeping form on Peter on the bed next to his. All thoughts of closing the curtains vanished as Harry reached over to his glasses, put them on and took a good look on the boy he loved more than anything. Peter's face was turned towards Harry and his golden hair was spilled all over his pillow.

Not for the first time Harry felt his pyjama bottoms tightening at the sight of Peter. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, trying to smother the little moans escaping his mouth as his hand wondered south. He loved Peter so much, he wanted to be with him, touch him without having to hide to steal a quick snog afraid they'll get caught. For the first time in his life Harry was completely and totally in love. Forget the little "affairs" if you can even call half a kiss with Cho, fooling around with Ginny near the orchid of the burrow and snogging with Hannah for nearly two months. One look from Peter meant so much more to him than all the looks and kisses and touches of every other girl on the planet.

As he neared his silent climax Harry vowed to himself that he will find that place, that haven of solitude that will allow him and Peter to be finally alone, so that they could consummate their love in every possible way.


	7. Under the Quidditch stands

This is so overdue it's not even funny. My only excuse is that I had a writer's block the size of Antarctica that wouldn't go away…

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Seven- Under the Quidditch stands**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Peter's birthdayis here, what is Harry planning? Dumbledore finds a way to return Peter and Susan to Narnia, will they go back, and what did happen under the Quidditch stands?

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

The morning of the 11 of March shone bright and clear. After a week of heavy snow and miserable weather all around, which made everyone in the castle gloomy and grouchy, the sun was finally out again. People woke up to a brilliant dazzle of white from the grounds and clear blue skies without a trace of a cloud. Peter walked with Harry down to the Great Hall for breakfast where he was greeted with all the sixth year of Gryffindor chanting a course of "Happy Birthday to you", Peter immediately blushed crimson and tried to duck into his seat as inconspicuously as he could.

He received good natured slaps and smiles from the boys and a colourful card and a small gift from the girls. Harry, who sat across from him, gave him a sweet smile that melted Peter's heart but said nothing. And Peter tried his best not to feel too self-conscious about it. After breakfast they each turn to his separate way, with a promise to meet again in a couple of hours in the charms class.

When Peter met with professor Lupin he was mightily surprise when the latter gave him a fond smile and a genuinely happy "happy birthday", which made Peter wonder which of the Gryffindors told the professor of his birthday. From the corner of his eye he could see the jealous face of Susan and he just knew she wished October 15th would be here and now. That amused Peter to no end, knowing that Susan was agonising in her love for the older man, which- if professor's Lupin's behaviour was any indicator, would stay blissfully unfulfilled. At last- she can get a taste of what I'm feeling, he thought, that shall serve her right.

By dinner time Peter felt wretched, not to mention flat out mad over the callus behaviour of his boyfriend. It wasn't that he expected a big party or something, but a little kiss would by nice. Hell, even a bloody slap on the back would suffice right now. But he got neither, as Harry got up and left the table long before dinner was over and disappeared without an explanation. Peter tried to stifle his disappointment but couldn't really stop the frown that crossed his face. He left the Great Hall with Ron, Hermione and Seamus, making his way back to the tower with no enthusiasm. Ron and Hermione walked ahead, bickering as usual over insignificant things and he trudged slowly next to Seamus who kept shooting him curious looks that Peter tried to ignore.

"So, what wrong?" Peter lifted his eyes questioningly, "You look like you've been stomped on by a dragon." Seamus told him in a friendly voice that made Peter want to burst in a mad laughter, "Are you having Harry troubles?"

"What?" Peter spat, a little too harsh than he meant, "What are you on about?"

"You're pissed because your dear boyfriend wouldn't give you any attention on your birthday." Peter stopped dead on his tracks and simply glared at Seamus in disbelief, it shouldn't surprise him, really, that Seamus knew of his attraction to Harry, all things considered, but it still did and Peter stood flabbergast in front of the smiling Irish boy. "Oh, come on Peter, you don't actually think I'll miss something as important as Harry's making his way into the world of man love." Peter blinked at him without a word and Seamus wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder, coaxing the stunned boy into moving.

"How did you know?" Peter asked quietly once he found his voice again,

"Well, it wasn't very hard to paste things together you know. The little looks and smiles…" He told Peter with a broad smile, "Not to mention the fact he's been sneaking into your bed almost every night." He added with a little wink that made Peter blush to the roots of his hair, much to Seamus' delight. The rest of the way to the tower was passed with Seamus dishing out tips for enhancing the joy of gay sex, while Peter was on the verge of collapsing with a heat stroke caused by his own blushing. When they stopped by the portrait of the fat lady someone grabbed Peter's arm. He looked around him wildly, not seeing anyone, and gulped nervously,

"Who's there?" He asked in a slightly shaking voice, not even reaching for his wand in his panic and Seamus laughed,

"I believe you boyfriend's here to whisk you off for a night of forbidden pleasures." He said as he reached around Peter and pulled something out of mid-air, revealing Harry standing there with his arms crossed, Seamus gave them both a wink and said to the fat lady, "Golden snitch." When the portrait swung open he turned to the couple at the corridor, "Do behave." And climbed inside the hole, Harry narrowed his eyes,

"Git!" He yelled after Seamus but got no reply, so he turned to the stunned Peter, gesturing for him to get under the cloak as well, "Come on, let's go."

The two made their way under the cloak, walking silently through the corridors. Peter could feel Harry's body pressed tight against his back as he guided their way from behind and bit his lip. It's been a while since he was this close to Harry and that felt so… strange, not that Peter didn't think of being intimate with Harry, but wank fantasies up in his room in Cair Paravel was a big step away from having Harry pressed against him so close.

"Where are we going?" He asked in a hushed whisper,

"You'll see." Harry's breath was ghosting over his ear, sending little shock waves down his spine. Peter gulped and tried his best to detach that little part of his brain that was supplying such facts as how close Harry really was and how good it felt mixed in with all the ever so helpful tips Seamus has been cramming into his brain for the last hour.

Eventually the two reached a deserted corridor on the seventh floor, when Harry stopped in front of a barren wall. Harry instructed Peter to stand back with the cloak while he paced in front of the wall three times. The door the suddenly appeared effectively cutting short any mocking words Peter might have had to say of Harry's strange behaviour.

Harry reached his hand to Peter and the blond boy took it, curious as to what was behind the door. When he stepped inside his jaw dropped in surprise. The room behind the door was breathtaking, in fact it wasn't a room at all, it was a forest clearing, complete with soft springy grass and moonlight spilling silver from the full moon that hung above like a huge crystal ball.

"Wow." He whispered in awe,

"You like it?" Harry's voice held a little note of uncertainty and he bit his lip, hoping beyond hope that Peter would like his surprise. His worries were dismissed when Peter turned around and wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's neck and their lips met in an enthusiastic kiss.

"I love it, how did you do that? It's not even full moon outside."

"This is the room of requirement; it'll give you anything you want." Harry answered simply, "And I wanted to give you a romantic picnic under the moonlight, only we don't have any champagne or strawberries, so I'm afraid it's going to be butterbeer and chocolate frogs…" Peter laughed and pulled Harry to him again, giving him a brief kiss before he settled down comfortably on the grass. Harry followed suit and produced the butterbeer bottles and chocolate frogs to sit on a small tree stump next to them.

"I thought you forgot." Peter whispered sheepishly, as if feeling guilty for doubting Harry.

"I know. That's why I brought you here," Harry said with a grin, "So, how old are you anyway?" Peter, who was just about to take a swig of his butterbeer, had to pause for a moment and think,

"Well, I was going to turn seventeen had I stayed home, but now I'm not too sure." He said with a frown,

"Hey, that's cool; I'm going to be seventeen in July."

"I suppose technically I'm seventy-one." Peter said gravely and Harry rolled his eyes,

"Don't be daft Peter, you don't have much more life experience than me, so drop the old man act and embrace your teen-ness." He stated firmly and Peter gave him half a smile, Harry reached with his hand to cup Peter's cheek softly, boring with his piercing greens into Peter's blue and doubtful eyes, "As much as you like to pity yourself, you are just seventeen, no matter what year you were born in." He finished quietly and before Peter had a chance to retort he dove in for a kiss. Peter soon found himself being gently lowered to the grass the kiss never broken and he moaned softly at the sensation. Harry kissed his way softly along Peter's jaw, nibbling and nipping at the soft skin, drinking eagerly the little noises Peter was making.

Peter closed his eyes, giving in to the amazing feeling of Harry's soft lips on his skin, something he sourly missed in all their time apart, and together here in Hogwarts. He felt his muscles relax under the gentle treatment. Harry's hand slipped under his shirt, searching for the warm and smooth skin, making Peter gasp into the kiss,

"Wait, Harry," Peter called breathlessly as he pulled back from the kiss, "What are you doing?" Harry rolled his eyes and sat back on his haunches,

"What do you think?" He said, trying not to sound too impatient with Peter's hesitation, after all, the whole point of the forest romantic-moonlight-picnic was to get into Peter's pants… Ok, maybe not the _whole_ point, but still… He tried to snick his hand back under Peter's shirt but the blond boy swatted his hand away,

"Stop!" Peter crawled backwards to place some distance between him and Harry, not so much afraid of Harry's actions as of his own reaction to it. He's been dreaming of being with Harry this way for a long time, why is he so fastidious about it now?

"Why?" Harry's didn't even bother to hide the disappointment in his voice,

"We can't…" Peter mumbled,

"Why not?" Harry cut in furiously, this was ridiculous! He grabbed Peter's hand roughly and placed it on the bulge in the front of his trousers, Peter's cheeks immediately reddened but Harry didn't care, "Can you feel this?" He hissed, "This is what you're doing to me, Peter," Peter's cheeks grew redder and he averted his eyes, and Harry felt like grabbing him and shaking him till his teeth clattered in his head. He pushed Peter's hand away from him and jumped to his feet, "For the love of Merlin, Peter, you've seen me naked before, you've touched me before," He cried out in exasperation, "How can you still be so squeamish about this?" Peter gathered his knees to his chest, resting his chin on top of them, refusing to look at Harry,

"I know," He whispered, "It's just… Have you ever done…?" He straggled with the word, chiding himself for not being able to say the thing they were both clearly thinking of at the moment, "Have you ever done… it, before?"

"What, sex?" Harry snorted at Peter's prudish attitude but a small part of his brain pointed out that if Peter didn't squirm it would have been Harry who would, but Harry chose to ignore that little voice and slumped back down to sit next to Peter. "No." He finally confessed,

"How far did you ever get?"

"How far did we ever get?" Harry answered with a little smile and Peter groaned, "I really don't see what the big deal is."

"Damn it, Harry!" This time it was Peter's turn to cry and jump on his feet, "We are not talking about holding hands and skipping about here, we are talking sex, and it's going to hurt, a lot." He finished with a sombre tone,

"Is _that_ what you're worried about?"

"Aren't you?" Peter felt a little deflated at Harry's casual approach to the subject, maybe I should set Seamus on him, he thought maliciously,

"Of course I am," Harry cried, jumping to his feet as well, facing Peter and reaching for him, pulling him into a tight hug, "But I'm willing to do it because I love you." He whispered in Peter's hair, and Peter felt like a complete idiot, and a coward,

"Or because you're horny?" He said in a small voice, which made Harry laugh,

"Only because you make me so." He pulled back and looked Peter square in the eye, "Come on Peter, it's no biggie." Peter chuckled softly,

"Well, that not very inspiring then, now is it?" It took Harry a second to catch up with Peter's humour but when he did he punched his boyfriend, not too gently,

"Ha Ha, Pevensie, very funny." Before he had time for a proper pout Peter covered his mouth with a soft kiss, that left Harry very pleased,

"It's not just that," Peter confessed quietly, "It's also this place,"

"You don't like the scenery?" Harry said in a disappointed voice, he's been working on this idea for almost a week now… "We could always change it."

"No, it's not the scenery, I love this scenery," Peter assured him with a smile, "It's this place in general, Hogwarts. It's hardly sex inspiring." Harry blinked a couple of times as Peter's words sank in,

"Are you taking the mickey on me? This castle is full of hormone packed teens whose sole thought is sex!" He exclaimed and Peter sighed, he wasn't doing too well in passing his point across, it's probably the effect of having Harry so close and kissing him so soundly that was making it hard to from any coherent thoughts. He decided to try a different approach,

"What would your friends say if they find out?" Harry huffed at the unwelcome mental image,

"They're not likely to flip even more than they will if we shag or not, now are they? I don't care what they have to say, this is _my_ life and they can't bloody tell me how to live them!" Now if only he could get himself to believe it, everything would be peachy in his world,

"And yet the constantly do…" Harry rolled his eyes, so much for convincing _anyone_ that his life belonged to him,

"If they ever find out they will just have to suck in and deal with it, just like they dealt with the fact that Seamus is buggering everything that moves or the fact that Ron is dating Luna "Loony" Lovegood!" He was slightly out of breath by the end of his little speech, which seemed to have little effect over Peter. Harry sighed and cupped Peter's face gently pressing their foreheads together, "Ok, look, I can wait, it's not going to kill me, though I bet I'll wish it would, but I'll wait. For you. I'll wait till we find a place you feel comfortable in."

"Really? You'll do that for me?" Peter whispered in awe,

"Of course, I'll do anything for you." Peter flashed Harry a big seductive smile before he leaned closer and kissed Harry again,

"So, how about you feeding me some of those infamous chocolate frogs of yours." Harry grinned and pulled Peter closer.

…**oo00oo…**

The following week passed fairly uneventful, as far as Peter was concerned, and that suited him well. He got his Harry back and made sure that the Gryffindors back off on their stupid plan to couple Harry with anyone else, plus, it gave Peter the chance to really appreciate the fact that Harry wanted him so bad Peter had to hold him back with a stick. Not that Peter didn't want to be with Harry, he'd be crazy not to, after all they've been through, but Hogwarts simply wasn't the place for it, at least not in Peter's eyes. The fact that the place was swarming with people at all times- day or night (Harry had taken to drag Peter out of the dorms after hours for a little "alone time" almost every night), combined with the fact that they all appeared to be watching every single move Harry made, caused Peter to hold back.

I was Tuesday morning, and Peter suddenly realized it was already the end of March, and that he and Susan have been in Hogwarts for almost two months now. During those two months Susan had been nearly metamorphosed, from a bitter, angry young woman to a bitter, less angry young woman who was basking in the glory of her unattained love. Peter found the situation quite distracting, as Susan tended to ogle professor Lupin during class and ooze sweetness. Peter was torn between gagging in disgust and watching in interest for further development.

That Tuesday morning Peter sat on the Gryffindor table, eating his breakfast and adding some last minute notes to his homework. When the owls arrived with the morning mail (a procedure that never failed to amaze Peter, the way each owl always found his correspondence and further more, the way the all swooped in without crashing into each other), when a brown barn-owl landed in front of him, sticking out his leg. Peter glanced at the owl suspiciously, he didn't know anyone outside Hogwarts, and there was absolutely no reason for the people _in _Hogwarts to send him an owl when they could simply come to talk to him in person. He glanced on both sides, maybe the owl got the wrong person, but the owl seemed determined that Peter was indeed his target, to the extant of actually nipping at Peter's hand, none too gently. Eventually Peter decided to stop fighting the owl and just take the note, worst case, he could always pass it on to its real corresponded. To his utter amazement he found his own name on the parchment, for long seconds Peter only stared at the note, as if the name would change, before he opened the note gingerly,

"Dear Mr. Pevensie,

I would like to see you in my office tonight, after dinner. New information has come to light that would surely interest you.

Respectfully,

Albus Dumbledore."

New information? What kind of new information could Dumbledore have? What kind of information could Dumbledore have that would be actually interesting for Peter… Oh, no… he thought miserably, Aslan must have returned, or worse, something bad could have happened to Ed and Lu. With those foreboding thoughts harping on his mind he soon realized that if he didn't hurry he's about to miss his lesson.

Peter skidded to a halt in front of the library doors, he took a deep breath before pushing them open and stepping inside. Susan sat in their usual table in the corner, contemplating a rather familiar looking parchment when Peter approached.

"Did you see that?" She asked him and he handed her his own version of Dumbledore's letter.

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. But I sure hope its good news." Susan twiddled with the parchment, and Peter noticed she looked even tenser than usual. Before they had time to suggest any ideas as to what Dumbledore cryptic message meant professor Lupin walked into the room and the lesson began.

…**oo00oo…**

Harry sighed in relief when the clock ticked off the seconds, signalling the end of class, it's been a long day, a day without charms, and thus a day without Peter. He began shoving his things back in his bag as fast as he could in order to get down to the Great Hall for dinner, when professor McGonagall's voice stopped him,

"Mr. Potter, a word." Harry rolled his eyes mentally and approached the teacher's desk. "Just a little message for you," she stated when he stood in front of her, "The headmaster would like a word with you in his office after dinner."

"Huh?"

"The _headmaster_ would like a word with _you_ in _his _office, _after_ dinner," She repeated slowly, as if Harry was soft in the head, "Clear?"

"Yes, professor. Thank you." He said with a clipped tone and left the classroom. Oh, great, what have done now? He sat heavily next to Peter, fighting back the urge to put his head on Peter's shoulder and give him the puppy-dog eyes.

"What did McGonagall wanted, Harry?" Ron asked from the other side of the table, already busy with piling food on his plate,

"Nothing, she just told me that the headmaster wants to see me after dinner." Peter lifted his head, the fork he was holding stopped halfway between his plate and his mouth.

"Hey, me too." The two Gryffindors looked at him, and Peter pulled Dumbledore's note from his pocket to show Harry.

"This is brilliant." Harry chirped happily, and Peter looked confused, "Well, it means I'm not in trouble or anything…" He explained sheepishly. "So, what do you think old Dumbledore has to say to us?" A horrible thought struck him that it had something to do with the fact that he and Peter were in love, when Peter said in a thoughtful voice,

"Susan and I think it's has something to do with Aslan." Harry felt a strange pang of disappointment at the fact that Susan was going to be there tonight, Pansy too probably. But then again, if Aslan has returned, that means that Susan would finally be on her marry way and Harry would be free to have Peter all to himself… that is if Peter doesn't decide to follow his sister back to Narnia. Damn, this was confusing.

The two of them headed for Dumbledore's office in silence, each trying to figure out what the other will do if the news were that Aslan has returned. At the gargoyle they met with Pansy and Susan who looked on the verge of hysteria. The four stepped on the revolving staircase that revealed itself once the gargoyle sprang aside and rode up to Dumbledore's office in silence. When the four teenagers walked through the door a slight frown crossed Dumbledore's brow, you'd think these four are on the way to their own funeral. He decided to end their misery,

"I have found a way to return you to Narnia." He said cheerfully and watched how the four were taking the news, if he expected them to whoop with joy he was surely disappointed, not even Susan looked happy,

"You mean Aslan is back?" Peter asked meekly,

"No."

"But you said that…" Susan burst in with an intense tone, but Dumbledore cut her short before she could say anything further,

"I know what I said but you have to understand that as far as you're concerned time in Narnia stopped when you left, which means that Aslan has just left. But!" He raised a finger before any of them could interrupt him, "I pulled some strings, called in a few favours… you know what I mean…" From the looks on the faces of the four teenagers they didn't quite knew, and Dumbledore sighed, so hard being a comedian these days… "Anyway, I found a way for you to return and now the two of you," He fixed Susan and Peter with a piercing gaze, "Have to decide whether you want to return or not. I suggest you take your time and we shall reconvene here tomorrow after lunch to hear your decision." The four nodded dumbly and rose from their seats, heading slowly to the door. Now they not only looked like they were heading for their own funeral, but also dragging their coffins behind them as well.

Once they reached the corridor out side Dumbledore's office Susan seemed to explode, turning to her brother,

"Peter, can't you see? This is our chance to go home!" She pleaded as if Peter had already said no,

"We will not be returning home, we would be returning to Narnia." Peter said flatly and looked away from his sister,

"Narnia is more of a home to me than this place would ever be." Susan said quietly,

"Not for me." Susan sighed and closed her eyes, battling the urge to punch Peter square in the face,

"Pansy, Harry, could I have word with Peter, alone?"

"You go ahead girl," Pansy said with a slightly forced cheery tone, "Come on Potter, let's go have the "What if" talk." With that she dragged the very reluctant Harry behind her and Susan directed Peter into the nearest classroom, shutting the door behind her. Peter leaned against one of the desks, looking worn out and tiered.

"Susan, spear me, please. I know what you're going to say and you're wrong. This is not about Harry. I have so many things going on for me here." Susan snorted with disgust,

"Right, how could I forget, Mr. Wizard." She said with a cold sneer.

"This is who I am now, Susan, and I'm very sorry if you feel threatened by it!" This has gone long enough, and even a good-natured, easy going person like Peter had his limits. Susan clenched her jaw tightly, clearly hurt by Peter's comment.

"Threatened? You must be joking! Why would I be threatened by your ability to swish some stupid stick in the air! Ed and Lu are all alone there, waiting for us to return, and you're going to abandon them for your own selfish whims." Now that wasn't fair! Nor accurate, really,

"Technically, they didn't even notice we were gone." Peter said quietly, already tiered of the argument. If nothing else, he thought, I might stay here just to rid myself of this constant nagging.

"Fine, whatever." Susan huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "I hate it here," she said quietly, miserably, "I really, really do. I don't fit in, I don't belong and I'm living in a house full of conniving… snakes." Peter smiled a little as he leaned and wrapped his arm around Susan,

"Try living in a house of righteous idiots who think they know what's best for everyone." She chuckled a little and leaned closer to Peter, drawing comfort from his strength. As much as Peter and Susan liked to bicker and fight, they still shared that ultimate bond of family love, which meant they always forgave each other and always stood by each other in times of need.

"I just want to go back."

"I know." Peter answered and tucked Susan's head under his chin, "You should go back." Susan lifted her head,

"What about you?" Peter avoided her eyes and sighed,

"It's not that easy."

"Because of Harry?"

"Because of a lot of things. I need to talk to him." Now it was Peter's turn to draw comfort from his sister and he placed his head on her shoulder, Susan's arms wrapping around him.

"Are you really in love with him?"

"Yes."

"Why?" The question left Peter a little flabbergasted; this wasn't something he thought of often,

"Why? I don't know. I mean… I _do_ know but it's a little hard to explain…" Susan smiled; love was never an easy thing to explain. She put her finger under Peter's chin and coaxed his head up, looking into his eyes,

"Did you two ever… you know?" She could keep her voice steady but not the blush from her cheeks, Peter also blushed crimson and looked away,

"No. Not yet." He bit his lip and frown, this was so surreal, it was the first time he and Susan had a "sex talk", and the thought of discussing the subject with her was making him a little squeamish.

"Are you going to?"

"Hopefully, some day." Susan looked both nauseated and intrigued by this and Peter just wished something heavy would fall from the ceiling and end his misery.

"I'm going to go back to Narnia," Susan said in a resolute voice, "But I'm not going to hate you if you don't come with me." Peter hugged her tightly,

"Thank you, Susan." They stayed like that for a little while longer before separating and going their separate ways.

Peter climbed his way to the Gryffindor tower, feeling relived, one obstacle down. Now he only had to talk to Harry. He didn't know what he wanted to say to Harry, what he wanted Harry to say to him; would Harry be able to change his decision making? With a deep collecting breath he stepped bravely into the Gryffindor common room and scanned the place for his boyfriend.

Harry sat by one of the tables in the far corner of the room fiddling endlessly with his wand ever since he sat in that spot what seemed like an age ago but was only ten minutes in reality. Every time he heard the portrait swing open he snapped his head up, hoping it would be Peter only to be disappointed to see one or other of his house-mates. When the portrait hole opened again he raised a weary head, without much hope when he finally saw the person he wanted to see so bad stepping in, looking around. Harry hastily rose from his chair, nearly knocking it over and rushed over to Peter's side.

Peter was still busy looking for Harry when the latter seemed to pop right next to him, nearly giving Peter a heart-attack. Peter smiled feebly, trying to calm the racing of his heart,

"Hi." Harry smiled warmly and stuck his hands demurely in his pockets, to avoid temptation,

"Hi yourself, Had a good chat with Susan?" Peter nodded and his smile grew wider,

"Can we have a word? In private?" Harry took a deep breath and nodded. He's been rehearsing what he and Pansy agreed on saying for the last hour repeating them over and over in his head. He knew they were the right words, the ones that had to be said but now that he was finally on the verge of saying them, he wasn't at all sure he wanted to. He wanted to take Peter in his arms more than anything and promise him whatever the blond boy wanted to hear, but he couldn't so instead he just led the way to their dorm room.

When he opened the door Harry breathed a sigh of relief that it was empty. Not that he had any problem at chucking his friends out, even at wand-point but he was still happy he didn't have to. He turned to face Peter, who was standing next to the closed door and pulled himself to his full height,

"Hum," he started hesitantly and had to stop and swallow hard around the lump forming in his throat, but the sooner the words were out the better, as far as he was concerned, "I just wanted to say that I'll support you whatever you decide to do." There, he said it and now he felt like ten kinds of shit, especially at the crestfallen expression that crossed Peter's face.

"Really?" Peter wasn't sure what he did wanted Harry to say, but that sure wasn't it.

"Yes, I'm not going to temper with your decision and I won't stand in your way." And that just made it worse, if possible.

"That's very noble of you." Peter managed in a strain voice, hoping he succeeded in hiding his disappointment and anger well.

"Peter, everything alright?" Harry knew that he was wrong to listen to Pansy, damn stupid nobility. This wasn't fair to either of them.

"Yes, of course." Peter walked to his bed, sitting down heavily, back turned to Harry. Harry closed his eyes briefly in self-disgust and racked his hand in his hair,

"Has Susan made her decision?" He asked, trying desperately to put some mental space between his words and his feelings,

"She's going back." The words were uttered so quietly Harry almost didn't hear them. Peter sat on the bed, back straight and wished Harry would just go away. Harry chewed his lip, battling to keep reign over his emotions, and tried again,

"I…" he began before he gave up, this wasn't working, at all, time to change the attitude a bit, "Oh, hell!" He cried and Peter turned in concern, "I promised Pansy I'll be mature about this and won't push you into anything but I can't. Peter," He reached over to sit on the bed and grabbed Peter's hand in his, "Please don't leave me. I love you so much, I can't make it without you." He pleaded and Peter fought to hold back his smile now that was much more like it!

"That's quite an argument." He said and Harry blushed and averted his eyes, suddenly shy of his declaration of love, "Alright." Harry lifted his head in shock,

"Alright? Alright, as in you'll stay?" He didn't dare to hope but Peter's smile and bright eyes left little doubt,

"Yes." Before Peter had time to assess the situation he found himself with an armful of Harry, who launched over at him with a big smile and an even bigger kiss. Unfortunately Harry failed to read the distant correctly and promptly send them both tumbling onto the floor with a loud and rather painful bang.

Peter blinked in pain, trying to clear his head from the blow, which unluckily caught him under Harry's body,

"Ouch." He heard the feeble muttering from above him and sniggered,

"I'll second that." Peter's snigger quickly turned into a chuckle and from that to a full laugh, and after a couple of stunned seconds Harry joined him, sliding to a more comfortable position on top of Peter, both laughing like mad, until their aching ribs, tearful eyes and shortness of breath caused them to calm down.

"Come on, time for bed." Harry said and pulled himself off Peter with visible effort as they scrambled to get ready for bed.

The next day they met up with Susan and Pansy after lunch at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle sprang aside once the four teens stood in front of him and they travelled up to Dumbledore's office.

"So, have you two reached a decision?" Dumbledore asked the Pevensie siblings without beating around the bush, and they both nodded, "Well?"

"I'm going back." Susan stated firmly, Dumbledore then turned his gaze to Peter who swallowed nervously,

"I'm staying."

"Very well." The old wizard said and rose from his seat, "Follow me, please." The four followed in silence as Dumbledore led them through the corridors and moving stairways of Hogwarts, down towards the dungeons. But they didn't stop at the potions class, or even at the Slytherin common room, as Dumbledore led them further down to the bowls of the castle, to a place that even Harry's never been to. Harry gazed around him in interest, trying to think if this place ever showed up on the Marauders' map when he felt a warm, slightly moist hand slipping into his. He looked up and received a sheepish smile from Peter, which he returned with earnest and squeezed his hand tight.

At long last Dumbledore stopped in front of an ancient wooden door which opened up in an ominous cricking sound and led the four gulping teens inside. The room was small and most of his space was taken up by a large mirror with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. Harry's eyes were attracted to the words carved on the top of the frame and his eyes widened, well, here's something he hasn't seen since his first year…

"I believe you know this mirror, Harry." Dumbledore said with an amused tone at Harry's astonished recognition,

"The mirror of Erised." Harry whispered in awe and the other three looked at him in confusion. Harry gulped and paced forward to the mirror, expecting to see his parents again, wanting to see them again. But when he stood in front of the mirror he could only see Peter standing behind his shoulder. Harry spun quickly only to see Peter standing at the doorway of the small chamber, huddled with Susan and Pansy and then returned his gaze to the mirror. Through the reflection he saw Peter leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on his neck, and Harry felt his cheeks flush and was mightily glad he was the only one seeing this, though when he turned his face to Dumbledore the old coot had a strange twinkle in his eyes that made Harry blush fiercer.

"Step forward, Miss Pevensie." Dumbledore instructed and Susan stepped forward, dragging Pansy, whose hand was clutched in Susan's with her.

"Thank you so much, for everything." She whispered to Pansy her voice thick with tears, hugging her tight.

"Anytime, girl." The raven-haired girl answered, her own voice slightly chocked. When Susan released Pansy, she turned to face Harry, who subconsciously shrunk,

"I should really hate you for stealing my brother away," She said sternly and Harry flinched a little but then she sighed, "But I've never seen Peter so happy as he is when he's with you," Harry didn't even have to look around to know that Peter was blushing a brilliant red as he was, he hugged Susan tightly, relieved she wasn't going to yell, when she pulled back from him and gave him a piercing glare, "You better take care of him, or I _will_ find a way to return here and make your life hell!" Harry stiffened and tried to smile, releasing Susan quickly and ducking shamelessly behind Pansy. Susan then turned to her brother,

"What am I going to tell Ed and Lu?" She asked quietly,

"Tell them the truth; tell them I'm a wizard." She nodded and bit her lip, trying to bite back tears,

"Take care of yourself." Peter sniffed too, blinking rapidly,

"You too." He said before he pulled her in a tight hug. "I will be back, someday, I promise." Susan nodded and whipped her eyes before she straightened herself and turned to face Dumbledore.

"Goodbye, Susan Pevensie. It's been a pleasure having you here." He stuck his hand out and she shook it gravely, tears now running freely down her cheeks. "You know what to do." Susan took a deep breath and turned to the mirror; she closed her eyes and reached forward, but opened them again in the last moment. The others watched in fascination as she slowly sank into the shining surface of the mirror. When she was completely gone Dumbledore turned to the three students,

"Well then, back to your classes then." The three hurried to comply, almost running out of the room.

…**oo00oo…**

It was the first Quidditch game that Peter ever saw. Harry and Ron had explained the rules to him several times and he even sat in a practice or two but nothing could have prepared him for the real thing. The stands were bustling with cheering Quidditch fans, most in either blue or red. He noticed the Slytherins were all supporting the Ravenclaw side while most of the Hufflepuffs were supporting Gryffindor. Not Hannah though, she stood tall and proud in her yellow and black scarf wrapped around her neck amidst the mass sporting red flags.

The players zoomed to and fro passing a big red and beating the angry looking black balls, trying to score. But Harry hovered above the game, seeming as if he didn't belong there, searching for something. Peter knew Harry was supposed to look for the snitch but he was a little disappointed that Harry didn't do any of the amazing turns and dives he did during practice.

Peter loved watching Harry fly; Harry was agile and carefree when he was up in the air. The stands were in an uproar as every spectator screamed his or hers lungs out. Peter could feel the wooden floor under his feet shaking with the stomping feet, but truth be told, Peter was bored. Never one to actually go for any organized sport; he soon discovered that Quidditch fell under the same description of football- boring and pointless. Not to mention that being up here in the stands, looking at the players zoom past made him feel queasy and pale.

Suddenly Harry plunged in a spectacular dive that stopped the breath of Peter and the rest of the Gryffindors, the other seeker plunged right after him but he wasn't quick enough and soon Harry rose from his dive, grinning wide with his hand held high, a glint of gold catching the rays of the winter sun. Peter felt his heart dislodge painfully from his throat and returning back to its rightful place after watching Harry about to crash the ground in full speed.

All around him the stands erupted in loud cheers or boos as the final score was announced. The Gryffindor players landed on the ground in a messy hug, all rounded around Harry, and then made their way to the changing rooms quickly, as the red stand filled out in a hurry, eager to get to their common room for the celebration. Peter waited until the last ones left before he moved, hating the idea of being caught in the masses on his way down more than he hated the idea of staying behind in the high stand.

Eventually he started making his way down the rickety wooden stairs, clutching the rail with both his hands and thanking Merlin or Dumbledore that Susan wasn't here to mock his phobia. Harry was probably bent on celebrating the victory with his friends and house mates and suddenly Peter didn't feel like going back there. He sighed and sat heavily on the bottom step, not sure where he should head next. Now that Susan was gone he felt more alone than ever. He never appreciated her presence in Hogwarts before, but she was a piece of home, an anchor for him and now she was gone and Peter felt that perhaps staying behind wasn't the best solution after all.

"Peter, Peter, are you in here?" Peter lifted his head at the cry of his name and poked his head out of the stand. Two stands away stood Harry, freshly showered and dressed in casual attire, hair still dump, poking his head in every stand looking for his stray boyfriend. Peter crept behind him and leaned in with a soft whisper,

"Hi." Harry jumped a foot in the air and spun around in surprise. When he saw Peter his face broke into a hearty grin and he pulled Peter against him.

"Hi yourself." He murmured and captured Peter's lips in a searing kiss. Peter smiled and returned the kiss with matching vigour.

A sharp intake of breath by their side caused them both to jump up and turn around. In front of them stood very pale, very disgusted looking Hannah.

"Shit." Harry heard the curse softly murmured and couldn't agree more. Being caught snogging under the Quidditch stands was one thing, being caught snogging under the Quidditch stands by your ex was down right cruel. Susan would surely appreciate the sick humour, he was certain.

"Oh. My. God!" She breathed hard, the first to overcome the shock, "Harry?" Harry simply stared at the blonde girl unable to bring himself to say anything. He felt Peter's warm palm slide into his and from the dark frown crossing Hannah's face he knew she saw that as well. "You're not in love with Parkinson after all." She said quietly, Harry shook his head,

"No, and I never was."

"So I see." She snorted in a humourless way, "So, let me get this straight, you left me for _him_." She jerked her head towards Peter,

"I'm sorry, Hannah." Harry said quietly, at lost for anything else to say.

"Oh, you will be, Potter! You bloody… Poof!" She cried and turned on her heel, running back to the castle, just like she did eight weeks back when Harry so carelessly dropped her, but this time it was worse, far more humiliating, and this time Harry _would _pay. This time even his own friends would turn away from his in disgust!

"She didn't seem terribly happy." Peter observed quietly, looking at Hannah's retreating back. Harry squeezed his hand tighter and tossed his head back in a furious shout,

"FUCK!" Peter flinched at the force Harry used to squeeze his hand before the raven-haired boy turned to face him, a wild fire in his eyes, "Come on!" Harry started to pull the stunned yet unresisting Peter behind him. They entered the castle hurried through the corridors. At first Peter thought Harry was leading him to the Gryffindor tower but he soon realized they were heading down towards the dungeons. Surely Harry wasn't planning on hiding away from the entire school?

Harry released Peter's hand in front of the small room the mirror of Erised was located in and opened the door; Peter tugged at Harry's sleeve,

"Harry…" Harry turned to face him, that wild fire still burning bright in those beautiful jade eyes,

"I've had enough!" He declared before stepping forward and grabbing Peter by the arms, "I can't do this anymore; I'm tiered of sneaking and hiding. I'm leaving!" Peter looked at him incredulously,

"But… but where will you go? Back to Narnia? And what of your friends?"

"I don't care! I'd rather take my chances with Susan than with this lot! And besides, I'm just going to end up back here and now eventually. I just need some time alone with you. Won't you come with me?" His eyes were pleading and Peter found it impossible to refuse, besides, he wasn't much looking forward to face the entire school of Hogwarts, Susan is probably better to face, and Narnia is a big place, maybe they wouldn't even have to meet her. He placed a gentle hand on Harry's cheek and a soft kiss on his lips,

"Let's find a safe haven." He said and Harry smiled. He lowered his arms and grabbed Peter's hand and they both walked over to the mirror,

"A safe place, somewhere we could be together in peace at last." Harry said before they both reached for the mirror. Peter closed his eyes as his fingers started to sink in the silvery glass, he tightened his grip on Harry's hand and let go of the rest, falling into the shimmering darkness.


	8. The best things in Life Part I

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Eight- The best things in life- Part I**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **Have Peter and Harry found their haven? Will they be happy together? The greatest of the adventures of Harry and Peter, complete with passionate love and then some more…

This last chapter is running a bit long, so I had to break it down in two.

There will be sex in this one, promise!! So if you were waiting for an epical love story between Harry and Susan, you should have dropped in the last chapter… but if you're here for some boy-love, than please sit back and enjoy.

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

Harry came to with a groan, cracking his neck in pain even before he opened his eyes. He slowly sat up and gazed around him, wondering if his brilliant escape plan had worked, and if it did, how well. Peter sat slowly besides him, turning a curious gaze around.

The two of them were sitting on soft grass, in what looked like a huge plain. Before them loomed the walls of a stone city, white and huge.

"Oh, Harry, I have a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore…" Peter said with a slight smile,

"We were never near Kansas to begin with." Harry answered levelly and Peter seemed to deflate. So much for famous movie quotes… "So where _are_ we? This doesn't look like Narnia…" Harry said, not sure if he was feeling glad about it or worried, "Right?"

"No, it most defiantly isn't Narnia." Peter confirmed, "I've never been here before but somehow this place is familiar…" He got to his feet and gazed all around him taking in the bleak mountains behind him to the white stone city in front of him. There was a nagging feeling in the back of Peter's brain, that he did know this place, it was like something out of a dream, or a book… A book. Peter turned again to gaze at the city intently before lifting his hand and starting to count pointing his finger. Harry cast him a curious side-long glance, still sitting comfortably on the grass.

"Peter?" He asked, a note of amusement in his voice, "Everything alright?" Peter didn't answer him for a long moment, still busy counting and frowning in concentration, until he seemed to reach a conclusion. His brow cleared and he smiled broadly before lifting Harry to his feet,

"YES! I know where we are!" He declared joyfully and Harry smiled,

"Where?"

"Minas Tirith!" Harry's smile froze, still plastered to his face, while a small crease formed between his brows,

"Minas… Is that in New-Zealand?" Harry tried to think of the furthest place in his known world,

"No, it's in Middle-Earth." Peter answered in slight frustration, how is it possible that Harry never heard of Middle-Earth before?

"Africa then."

"No! Harry, Middle-Earth is not on our earth, we travelled to another world. Again." He sighed, how on earth they ended up _here _of all places?

"How can you be so sure? You said you've never been here before." Harry argued as he was starting to feel the first stabs of panic; he wanted a quiet place to be alone with Peter, the forest of Narnia or Wales maybe, not yet another world…

"It can only be Minas Tirith, look," Peter grabbed Harry's shoulder and pointed to the city, "There are seven levels, a white stone city with seven levels, circular and well protected. It can only be Minas Tirith. We are in Gondor."

"But you just said we are in Middle-Earth!" Peter groaned exasperatedly, was fine literature completely lost on the younger generation?

"Gondor is the country we're in, Middle-Earth is the world." He explained.

"How do you know all that?" Harry cried out,

"Haven't you ever read "Lord of the Rings"?"

"No!" Harry flung himself to the grass and brought his knees up to his chest burying his face. What has he done now…? Peter looked down at the miserable heap on the grass that was his boyfriend and after a little while sat carefully beside him, draping his arm around Harry's shoulders,

"Look, it's not so bad. The mirror brought us here for a reason. It's going to be fine." Harry gave him an almost watery half-smile,

"You don't understand, it's my fault, I brought us here and I shouldn't have." Peter rolled his eyes in exasperation and jumped to his feet,

"Don't start!" Harry looked up in surprise, "Whatever reason that brought us here is not important. We are in Middle Earth and now we have to make the best of it. Come on." He extended a hand to Harry who took it gingerly, not entirely sure what brought on the change in Peter's behaviour but quickly finding he actually liked the dominant side of his boyfriend.

The two started making their way towards the city hand in hand. Their route proved to be a little more difficult than they thought at first; the face of the grassy plain wasn't level as they were on sight and held many secret holes and ditches, not to mention that the distance from the city was also quite misleading. By the time the finally made it to the big oaken gates of the city they were both tiered, sweaty and out of breath and all Harry wanted was a hot bath and a soft bed. He looked up and saw the sun nearing the horizon, man; it must have taken them at least three hours to walk from the spot they've landed in.

"Good evening, travellers. How may I be of service to you?" Harry snapped back and looked at the tall man, clad in shining metal armour peering down at them. In his left hand he held a rather menacing looking spear, which stood in a sharp contrast to the warmth of his smile and made Harry feel a tad uncomfortable.

"Evening, good sir." Peter said in a grateful voice, "We have come from afar and are seeking shelter for the night. May we earn court with the leader of your fine city?" Harry frowned a little at Peter's pompous speech but the guard didn't seem much fazed by it.

"What business brings you to Minas Tirith, and where from, good sir?" Peter worried his lip for a moment, trying to think how much of the truth he should tell, and how much of it should he stretch,

"I am King Peter the magnificent," He finally decided, hey, if I have a title, I might as well bloody use it! "From the realm of Narnia." The guard looked a little sceptical so Peter added for good measure, "It's a small realm, north of Mirkwood. My companion and myself have been travelling for many a day to reach the white city."

"You must have come for the celebrations then. You are the first guests to show." Peter nodded regally, trying to look as if he had the vaguest idea of what was going on, and hoped that Harry wouldn't open his mouth to say anything. He chanced a glance at Harry who mostly looked baffled, probably at the use of so many words he didn't understand. Peter tried not to feel too condescending towards Harry- well, that shall serve him right for not reading books!

The guard looked at them for a long moment and Peter was worried they might end up thrown spectacularly out of the city walls to fend for themselves. He suspected the fact that they both wore jeans and jumpers did nothing to ease the guard's mind of their story.

"Very well," He decided at long last and Peter let out a small sigh of relief, "I shall send a guard with you to the palace where you can plea for an audience with the King. Have you any weapons?" Peter and Harry shook their heads in unison, they both had their wands but unless the guard will call on them, neither had any intention to mention them, what more- they didn't even know if their wands would work in this place. The guard nodded and turned to his left barking some orders and another guard appeared, this one young and slightly nervous.

"Malabeth, escort these two gentlemen into the citadel's court yard and announce their arrival to the steward, and then wait for his instructions." The young guard squared his jaw and shoulders, looking slightly pale at the magnitude of his task but nodded all the same before he beckoned Peter and Harry to follow.

The three started making their way in silence through the streets of Minas Tirith, climbing steadily up from one level to the next.

"Psst, Peter," Harry half whispered from the corner of his mouth, "What the fuck is going on?"

"We're going to see the King." Peter answered and then added in an aftermath, "And the Queen, I suppose." Malabeth, who overheard Peter suddenly turned, halting their process, nearly causing the unsuspecting Peter and Harry to walk right into him,

"Beg your pardon sir, but there is no Queen in Minas Tirith." Peter gulped at the accusing stare of the guard, oops, he thought. He tried feverishly to remember what happened in the end of the book, but all he could come up with was Aragorn being made king and marrying Arwen…

"So the King's a bachelor then?" Harry asked and Malabeth almost jumped at the unexpected comment from the quiet raven haired, who he assumed was a servant to King Peter.

"Of course not, the King is married to Legolas, the Prince Consort." He answered with dignity and then berated himself for revealing the information and not trying to expose the strangers in their ignorance. Peter's jaw dropped in shock, well; they certainly didn't say _that _in the book… He tried to smile reassuringly at Malabeth, who gave him a narrow eyed gaze, and grabbed Harry's hand in his, this was a good sign, he figured, if the king is queer…

The trio continued her way up the city in silence once more, both Peter and Harry's minds racing with possibilities, worries, hopes and uncertainty, when the finally arrived at the stone courtyard. Harry looked around him in curiosity, the perfect picture of a tourist, and Peter battled the urge to smack him in order to make him stop. He himself knew what to expect, of course, which nevertheless amazed him to the point of no words, but he tried to cover it by tossing poor Malabeth regal looks. The squirming Malabeth was mightily glad they've reached the citadel and that soon enough he could place these two strangers in the hands of the steward. After a short discussion by the front doors, a guard was sent to track down the steward.

"Good evening, sirs." The steward greeted Peter and Harry when he approached the white tree, where the two stood, and gave a short curtsy bow, which was promptly returned by Peter and a very uncomfortable Harry. "What may be your business here in Minas Tirith?"

"We are here to plea for court and shelter with your King, milord." Peter answered feeling far more nervous than he did while talking with the guard. This was _Lord Faramir_, a nobleman and the steward of Gondor, not some mindless babbling fool of a guard whose sole job is to follow orders.

"Malabeth informed me that you arrived from the realm of Narnia."

"Yes, sir, we have." Faramir nodded and gave the two a once over, taking their clothes, and the way they looked like a couple of scared teenagers. This could be rather entertaining, he mused, and Elbareth knows that King Elessar and Prince Legolas needed some entertainment, what with the up coming celebration that was taking its toll in sleepless nights and loss of appetite. "Very well. Follow me."

Peter and Harry hurried to obey and followed the long-legged steward, trotting quite unbecomingly for a king, Peter noticed, but right now he didn't feel like claiming the respect for his title, not when he still needs to explain the king and prince where Narnia really was. He might be able to fool the guards, and even the steward maybe, but Aragorn was a ranger for years and travelled every corner of Middle Earth, and Legolas was from Mirkwood.

Faramir led the two through a large set of doors, into a vast chamber, decorated rather sombrely with huge pillars of white and black marble and towering statues of kings of old. Harry once again stared shamelessly around him and this time Peter did nudge him in the ribs to get his attention back. At the end of the great hall he could see a couple of huge stone thrones, occupied by two men, the mighty King Elessar and the fair Prince Consort Legolas. When they approached the thrones Faramir knelt down on one knee in respect and Peter and Harry hurried to copy his example.

"Good evening milord, prince. These are King Peter the Magnificent and…" At that Faramir turned to Harry with a questioning gaze and Harry gulped in fright,

"Hmm, Harry, Harry Potter." He said quietly, flinching as the hall seemed to carry his whisper and magnify it to sound like a shout,

"And Harry Potter, from the realm of Narnia." Faramir finished with the tiniest of smirks, meant only for his king and prince. Aragorn watched the tow teens from his seat; they looked rather harmless, like lost hobbits or something. He exchanged a glance with his husband, pleased to find the amusement on the elf's face.

"What brings you heather?" He asked,

"We arrived after many days of travelling, and we seek shelter for the night." Peter answered, not sure whether he should mention the celebration or not, after all, he wasn't entirely sure which celebration was on line here.

Harry, meanwhile, gazed curiously between the king and prince taking in the differences in the king's weathers bitten face and the perfect, smooth and almost childish features of the prince. Both men were beautiful in their own way, and more importantly, they looked beautiful together. He was suddenly very aware that the elven prince was gazing at him intently and blushed at once, ducking his head in shame. It took some time but finally, the magnitude of their position caught up with him. This was a _real_ king, one who was loved and respected by his subjects, and his husband, who was probably admired and lusted after by his people. The point is, Harry tried to explain himself shakily, this was _big_, and he should stop acting like a complete pillock, right about _now_!

Before the king had time to answer Peter's plea, Legolas jumped gracefully from his seat and marched over to Harry, covering the distance between them in speed that surprised Harry. He grabbed Harry's chin gently and peered into his eyes. Harry gulped in nervousness, not sure what he should do, chancing a side-glance at Peter who looked just as shell-shocked as he was.

"Your eyes, they are most curious." The prince declared, tilting his head to get a better angle,

"Hum, thank you, your highness." Harry tried not to succumb to the almost overwhelming temptation to blink or close his eyes,

"Are you of elven heritage?" The prince asked, and suddenly Harry was aware that all the other four present in the room were looking at him intently. The three Gondorians were curious but Peter looked almost insulted, as if Harry has been keeping this a secret from him. He cleared his throat nervously,

"No, I-I don't think so." The prince reached for his thick tuft of hair and racked his fingers through it, exposing Harry's ears and sending strange shivers down his spine from the delicate touch.

"Your ears are human, yet your eyes are elfish." Harry tried to smile and silently prayed that the prince would let go of him so that he could run and hide from the perplexing feeling his fingers were sending through his body. "What do you think mela?" The last words were directed at Aragorn, who sprang from his chair and walked over to where his husband and Harry stood. He inspected the stunned youth and shrugged,

"I'm not sure, we should probably wait for Adar, as he's bound to know." Much to Harry's relief the prince released him and stepped back, still looking at him with curious. The king then turned to Peter who straightened up and swallowed, "I believe it would be for the best if the pair of you shall remain here for the time being." Peter bowed his head in thank, fighting hard to hide the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Oregal," He cried and both Peter and Harry jumped when they heard a quiet respectable voice from behind them,

"Yes milord."

"Take these two to one of the guest rooms and tend to their… wardrobe needs." He then turned to Peter and Harry and gave them a warm smile, "I shall be seeing the two of you at the dinner table, in one hour. I should like to hear more of that realm of yours." Peter nodded nervously and then turned to follow the butler.

The butler didn't speak the whole while the two teens were walking behind him; it was not his job to question his liege's decisions, though he could see little interest in the pair.

"In here." He said and opened a heavy oaken door, gesturing Peter and Harry inside, "There are fresh water in the basin. I shall bring garments for you shortly." He said and turned, leaving them alone. Peter was looking after the butler, feeling strange and uncomfortable, and quite worried of what King Elessar had to say to him, when Harry pulled him roughly into the room, shut the door and slammed Peter against it, descending hard on his mouth. The kiss caught Peter in surprise and it took him several seconds to return it. When they finally pulled back he gasped for air he nearly squeaked,

"Harry, what has gotten into you?" Harry didn't answer immediately, but pushed his fingers under Peter's jumper, fully intending on undressing his boyfriend, Peter half-heartedly tried to dissuade him from doing just that,

"Peter, don't you get it? This is what we were looking for!" He cried in vexation, "A safe place! I mean you can't get any safer than the bloody king being queer!" Peter smiled at that, he should have known that Harry would not waste a moment to get his way; after all, this_ is_ why they came here…

"Yes, you're right." He agreed but grabbed Harry's wandering wrist nonetheless, "I don't know where you grew up but it is common English curtsy to show up in time for dinner. Especially when the one inviting you is a king, who could probably punish you quite creatively if you misbehave." He said with a grin and Harry pouted, "Don't be so crestfallen love; we will have the entire night for ourselves, if we don't get kicked out on our backsides after dinner." He gave Harry a small wink and leaned in for another kiss, just when a knock was heard on the door. Harry rolled his eyes but let Peter reluctantly go so he could open the door. In strode Oregal, carrying a pile of neatly folded garments and placing them on the bed, before he stood by the door, a clear sign he was waiting for them to change so he could lead them to the dinner table.

Harry and Peter, despite their usual uninhibited way of changing in dorm rooms, still felt strange under the stern man's gaze and tried to divest of their clothes as fast as possible, sliding into garments that far more resembled the ones they saw on the local populace. To Peter the tonic and leggings reminded of the way he used to dress in Narnia and that somewhat comforted him. Once they were both ready Oregal led them to the main dining hall, where the king and prince already sat, waiting. Peter and Harry slipped into their proffered places as quickly as possible.

"Good evening to you two." King Elessar greeted warmly and they both returned the greeting in murmured voices. The butler reappeared with a line of maids in toe, placing plates of soup in front of the four. Neither spoke until the staff left, when Aragorn picked up his spoon and looked at Peter thoughtfully, "My guards have informed me that you come from Narnia, a small kingdom north of Mirkwood?" Peter immediately blushed, both because of being addressed directly and both by the implication he was lying, he cleared his throat nervously,

"Well, hum, it's not _exactly_ north of Mirkwood."

"Jolly good then and here I thought all my years as a ranger has led me astray." Aragorn said in a cheerful voice and Peter winced, being mocked by a proper king, well, that must be a first.

"It's in another world." He finished with a little inner smirk at the flabbergast expressions on both Aragorn and Legolas' faces.

"Another world, such as Valinor?" Legolas asked suspiciously and Harry gave him a blank look, lost again in what was being discussed, Peter however shook his head in negation,

"No, another world that is nowhere near Middle Earth." Legolas and Aragorn exchanged an uneasy look,

"Well, I suppose we had better wait the arrival of Gandalf, to solve this mystery." Aragorn said at long last and Peter gasped in surprise,

"Gandalf is coming here?" He asked eagerly and won himself twin looks of amusement mixed in with suspicious, Peter instantly blushed and the rulers of Gondor smiled wide,

"You know Gandalf?" Aragorn asked in a highly amused voice,

"Hum, not personally, but I have heard of him." Peter answered,

"As a matter of fact, he is coming this way, Along with the delegation of the Shire." The king informed them and Peter nearly jumped out of his seat again,

"The hobbits are coming too?"

"You know the hobbits?" Aragorn said with a slight smirk but before Peter could answer Legolas cut in, eyes sparkling in mischief,

"By the Valar, let me guess, you haven't met them personally, but you have heard of them." Peter ducked his head into his meal blushing furiously, and Aragorn turned to his husband,

"Stop, mela, you're embarrassing the lad." Legolas didn't look sorry at the least but stopped teasing the crimson-faced Peter, much to the sandy-haired boy relief. "Yes, Gandalf and the hobbits are all coming here for the upcoming celebrations."

"What celebrations are we talking about here?" Harry suddenly asked, nearly startling the king and prince who almost forgot the presence of the dark-haired, green-eyed boy, "The guards mentioned it as well."

"The celebrations of the fifth anniversary of the end of the war, the destruction of the ring and the fifth anniversary of our marriage." Legolas said proudly and squeezed Aragorn's hand affectionately, Aragorn returned the smile with a small, soft kiss to Legolas' lips, and Harry and Peter exchanged an amused look, it was really a pretty sight, watching the king and prince showing their love. Aragorn suddenly became aware of their gazes and broke away from his love with a small cough,

"I believe I should like to hear of your adventures." He stated firmly, though his hand never left Legolas'. Peter and Harry exchanged another look before Peter started talking. With the help of Harry he told Aragorn and Legolas all their escapades, both in Narnia and in Hogwarts. Both the king and prince seemed enthralled by the story, asking many questions while the four ate their meal. By the time Peter reached the present the hour was already late, and he noticed that Harry was trying to subtle about rubbing his tiered eyes.

"That was quite an engaging tale." The king said with a tiered smile of his own, "I do believe we shall all retire for the night, and meet again for breakfast tomorrow morning." Peter and Harry nodded their agreement, not daring nor wanting to refuse the king's wish.

Once they were back in the safety of their own room, Harry didn't even have enough force to tackle Peter to the bed and as soon as he shed his garments (all over the floor) he simply fell on the plush covers and curled into himself like a little cat. Peter watched his slumbering boyfriend with a small smile and a soft shrug. Well, so much for hot and randy love… He sighed and picked up Harry's garments, laying them neatly on the chair, along with his own before curling into bed, wrapping his arms tightly around Harry, who snuggled close to him.

The next morning began with the subtle yet loud cough of Oregal, which caused both Harry and Peter to jump up, face flashing with embarrassment at being seen sleeping together nude. After they quickly freshened up and dressed they were escorted to the dining hall for breakfast with the king and prince. Now that Peter had revealed the truth of their story and cleared away the suspicions he found that Aragorn was actually a very warm person with uncanny passion for adventure stories, and that Legolas had a sharp, dry and cynic sense of humour, which was highly amusing, as long as his verbal pointed arrows weren't directed at him personally.

After breakfast Legolas, who seemed bent on proving that Harry had some tiny speck of elven blood in him dragged the latter to the archery field for a test. Unfortunately, Harry's skill with the bow was less than passable at the best and down right dangerous to any passers by at the worst. Harry was wringing the bow nervously, not sure which upset him more, his own lack of ability and skill or the crestfallen, almost broken hearted look on Legolas' face. Harry sheepishly returned the bow and nearly fled the field, cheeks burning.

For the rest of the day Harry and Peter were pretty much left for their own device, with strict orders to stay within the city walls. An order they were only too happy to follow as leaving the city meant going all the way down to the first level. They strolled amide the numerous gardens of the city, each more amazing than the last and Peter explained Harry that elves regarded nature as something holly and sacred, and were even known to wither and die if kept away from green and life for too long. He also tried to explain to the best of his ability and understanding the story of the fellowship and its task, and wished- not for the last time, that Harry was less bent on sports (what was it again, Quinnitch?) and more on books.

By dinner time the story of Harry's performance on the archery field reached the ears of the king, as well as the steward and his cheery wife, Eowyn, who joined them that evening. Harry found himself been taunted good-naturally by a beautiful blonde who reminded him more than anything of Tonks and her easy going ways. The fiasco with the bow was soon forgotten amide the laughter and hearty conversation and Harry wondered what it would be like when the hobbits arrive, as each of their hosts had more than a handful of amusing anecdotes to share, mostly involving a guy called Pippin and meals… Harry and Peter discovered that they were actually relaxing in the presence of their hosts and though it's been less than a day they almost felt like they belonged in this place. Harry felt the anticipation build inside of him, tugging at his willpower and itching in his palms to touch and devour Peter. He couldn't wait till they got back to their room. But since the conversation didn't show any signs of dying soon he decided to take matters into his own hands and feigned a huge yawn, rubbing his eyes and smiling sheepishly at the crowd. The others looked at him with serene smiles, obviously amused by his antics until Aragorn decided to pity the lad and sent him and Peter to bed.

They walked through the hall towards their room and Harry felt like skipping, while Peter seemed calm and collected, which made Harry want to pounce him even more, Smarmy git. Peter reached for the door handle and that was too slow for Harry. He tackled the blond into the room and crushed their lips together in a hungry kiss that left them both breathless while he tried to stir them as best he could towards the bed. They fell on it in a tangle of limbs, panting and smiling at each other. Harry showered little affectionate kisses and nips on Peter's face and neck before pulling back and glaring sternly at him,

"I seem to remember you promising me something last night." He said in a low growl and Peter gave him an incredulous look,

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who dropped like a stone last night!" He cried, but Harry was not in the mood for logic,

"Whatever. I need you, now." He whispered and Peter felt a warm twang in his heart, along with several other organs as Harry turned back to his devouring mission. His brain was turning rapidly into mush and he tried to push Harry half-heartedly away before that happened,

"Harry, wait… Harry, stop! Wait!" Harry released another low growl, which Peter found was going straight to his nether regions but pulled back, sitting on his haunches straddling Peter.

"_What_?!" For a fleeting second Peter wished he could just throw himself into things headfirst like Harry did, but once that passed he was actually glad he was the more level-headed one of the two,

"We can't just rush into things, we need to prepare ourselves." He explained and Harry rubbed his face in desperation,

"Prepare? What are you on about?" Why was Peter insisting on making everything so difficult?

"Well, do you have any lubrication material?" Harry frowned at him, what?

"Lubric…" He took a deep breath, "What sort of lubrication are we talking here?"

"Something viscous, oily," Peter explained calmly as if they were discussing the weather and not sex, which made Harry want to chuckle, "You know, to ease the friction." He added a vague hand gesture for good measure which really made Harry chuckle, and Peter blushed, "Seamus said it's very important." He finished awkwardly and Harry stopped chuckling at once, eyes narrowing dangerously,

"What did you say?"

"That we need some sort of Lu…" Harry cut in with an impatient wave of his hand,

"No not that, what was it about Seamus?" Peter bit his lip and tried not to smile; it was, well, cute to see Harry worked up over something like that,

"He said it's very important to use lubrication, otherwise it can really hurt." Harry didn't seem impressed in the least; he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest,

"And why, prey, were you talking to Seamus, of all people, about sex to begin with?" To Harry's surprise Peter blushed even more and refused to meet his eye, plucking at the bed spread,

"I wasn't exactly talking to him; he just gave me a few tips."

"When?"

"My birthday," He looked up at Harry in frustration, "I was upset because you didn't pay any attention to me so he tried to cheer me up!"

"By giving you sex tips?"

"He thought we were going to do it that night!" Peter rose to his elbows and the two of them were glaring at each other for a full minute before Harry seem to deflate and lowered his arms to his sides,

"Is that why you didn't want to… That night?" He asked softly and Peter shrugged,

"Partly, well, it all sounded so messy and painful."

"But you're willing to do it now?" Harry questioned, suddenly not too sure of himself anymore.

"I think so, yes." Peter said softly, locking eyes with Harry's, "But only if we find some sort of lubricant." Harry smiled wide and looked around the room, trying to think of something he could use as sufficient lubricant, before jumping off Peter and dashing to the other side of the room, returning with a small vial.

"Soothing oil." He announced proudly as he slumped on the bed next to Peter with a triumphant smile. "Ok, talk me through it."

Peter smiled a little nervously, he did want to make love to Harry, to feel him close and warm by him, with him, around him and in him, but now that they were so close to the mark, he started to feel a nervous tug in his gut. He swallowed thick and cleared his throat,

"First off, we need to decide which one of us is going on top and which one on bottom." Harry swayed exaggeratedly on the spot before flopping down next to Peter,

"Blimy, this whole sex thing is so bloody complicated!" He complained loudly and Peter laughed. Harry turned to his side and threw an arm over Peter's chest, bringing their faces close together, "Which one do you want to be?"

"I don't know I've never been either." Harry sighed,

"Neither have I…" A sudden spark of inspiration hit him, "Hey, what if we both do it! We can switch!"

"You mean you go on top first and then I go on top?"

"Exactly!" Harry reached for the oil bottle on the night dresser and pulled the stopper, "Ok, if you can guess which hand is holding the cork, you go on top first." He reached both his hands forward, curled into fists and presented them to Peter. Peter rolled his eyes at the somewhat childish way to solve the problem but tapped Harry's left palm all the same, Harry grinned and opened his hand to reveal it empty, showing Peter the stopper dangling between the fingers of his other hand, "Hi hi, I won." He grinned in a singsong voice, and Peter muttered,

"Git!"

"Come on," Harry purred leaning close to Peter's ear, "You know you want it just as much as I do."

"Perhaps," Peter said casually and turned to his side to face Harry, "I know what I would like though, to see you naked." Harry's grin could have split his face in half before he jumped out of the bed bowed low,

"Yes, your highness." He said cheekily and ducked as Peter tossed a pillow at him. Laughing Harry started tearing at his clothes, trying to divest of them as fast as he possibly could. For a long moment, Peter simply watched amused, until Harry stopped halfway of removing his socks and gave Peter a meaningful glare that spurred Peter to tug at his own clothes. Before long they rejoin on the bed, naked and flushed. "So, what's now, oh tipped one?" Peter took a deep breath,

"Seamus said that preparation is very important…" He began when Harry stopped him with a raised hand,

"Ok, stop." He said in a firm voice and Peter looked at him questioningly, "Could we please leave Seamus out of our bed? He's a dear friend but I want to shag _you_, not him." Peter nodded dumbly, it made sense, sort of, "Just… pretend you came up with things."

"Okay… then _I_ say that you need to prepare me," Peter ventured bravely, speaking fast before he'd lose his nerve altogether, because this was it, the real thing! "Take the oil and spread it on your fingers and then… enter me, slowly!" Harry seemed to lose his cheery composition for the sake of seriousness as they started talking business and slowly did as Peter instructed. He poured some of the fragrant oil on his palm and rubbed it on his fingers, and then he took a deep breath and reached his index finger down, never breaking eye contact with Peter. Harry slowly pushed the finger past the tight ring of muscles and Peter immediately tensed,

"Is that alright? Are you in pain?" Peter shook his head, trying to get his erratic breathing under control,

"N-Not really," He stammered, "It's just weird. Wiggle you finger a bit and then add another." Harry complied at once and Peter sank back against the plush pillows, eyes fixed on the ceiling, trying to ignore the fact that at the moment Harry, the person he loved and trusted most, had two fingers up his bum and soon something far more substantial. He tried to breath with the pace of the fingers, just talking himself into it, in and out, nice and slow.

"This is nice…" Peter looked at Harry who seemed far too nervous for someone who was so eager to have sex only minutes ago, and felt anger rising in him, which he knew wasn't really fair but couldn't help himself,

"Oh for pit's sake Harry!" He cried and Harry literally jumped up looking at him with wide green eyes, "You're supposed to stretch me out so I could take in your bloody cock! Start moving those fingers!" He snapped and watched as Harry's jaw tightened in offence,

"Alright, alright, do you have to be so clinical about all this?" He asked in a hushed tone, almost as if he was afraid to upset Peter further but he did comply and moved his fingers faster, suddenly scissoring them inside Peter and the latter hissed,

"Sorry, it's just… I'm a little nervous; it's my first time…"

"Mine too. We could stop if you want." Harry offered though he knew it would be down right impossible, his cock was so erect and stiff it was almost painful,

"It's not going to make it less weird if we wait. You can add another finger." Harry did and Peter tensed again, this was a lot to take in… he tried to calm himself down, remembering what Seamus had said and repeated in his head- relax, relax, like some soothing mantra. Harry felt the tension in Peter's stance and saw the discomfort etched on his beautiful features and acting on pure instinct, he reached his free hand and started rubbing leisurely semi-circles on Peter's stomach. It seemed to work, as Peter's body slowly went slack under the soft touch and eventually he lifted his eyes to meet Harry's,

"I think I'm ready." He whispered and Harry nodded, suddenly looking every bit as stressful as Peter did a second ago, which made Peter want to smile,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, just add more oil and go slow!" Harry nodded and withdrew his fingers, and Peter continued his soothing breathing, trying to clear his mind blank and not think of what was to come, when he felt the blunt head of Harry's cock nudging at his entrance.

He locked eyes with Harry and begged wordlessly for his to go slow. Harry nodded and tried to pace himself, going against every instinct in his body that was begging him to go fast and embed himself completely in that amazing heat and tightness that was Peter. But he refused to cause Peter more discomfort than he was already feeling and went slow, stopping whenever Peter's face were contracting in pain, until finally, he was all the way in and now it was Harry's turn to take a moment to compost himself. This was too much, too overwhelming. Not too familiar with foreign touch on his cock, this was like the first time he flew on a broomstick, the first Hogwarts letter he ever got, the first birthday present he ever got. This was bliss, pure ecstasy, elation and euphoria.

Harry opened his eyes to see Peter watching him closely, a small smile on his face, which Harry managed to return rather crookedly, before he pulled out slightly and thrust back in. the smile on Peter's face was gone and he was back to his mantra breathing. He didn't want to say anything, to break the spell Harry was under because he never saw his boyfriend looking more beautiful. So he clenched his jaw and prayed that Harry would close his eyes and not see the pain written all over his face. Fortunately for him, Harry was completely enthralled in his slow driving in and out of Peter's body that nothing else probably seemed to make much sense to him. He was lost in a world where only his erection and Peter's tight heat existed. Peter's own erection had somewhat wilted away a while ago in a haze of pain but the look on Harry's face, the way his cheeks flushed and his pink lips parted and emitted little moans and gasps was enough to have Peter want this to last.

Harry drove in and out a few more times, feeling the need building so high in him it was almost blinding. He didn't want to let go, didn't want this amazing feeling to end, but he knew he couldn't possibly last. Eventually the want coiling inside him was just too much to handle and he let go, falling freely over the edge and spilling inside his love… inside his Peter. Harsh, sobbing, almost painful breaths tore from his lungs as he collapsed next to Peter on the bed, millions of colours swirling behind his closed lids. It took him a while before he could feel the soft hand caressing his face, pushing strands of damp hair out of his eyes and soft lips feather kissing his face. His eyes fluttered open and a lazy smile blossomed on his lips, Peter couldn't help but return it,

"Are you ok?" Harry rolled to his back and stretched out like a big cat, one that had all the cream and then some more,

"Uh-huh, I feel great! You?" Peter blushed and shrugged refusing to meet Harry's eye and feeling like ten kinds of idiot for not being able to keep a tighter rein on his feelings, because he didn't even need to turn his head to know that he just ruined Harry's after-glow of his first sexual encounter.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled and tried to get up, not sure where he wanted to go, but knowing that anywhere would be better than seeing the pained look in Harry's eyes. But Harry wouldn't let him go; he reached forward and grabbed Peter's shoulders, forcing him to keep lying on his back,

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Harry exclaimed and forced Peter to look at him, "I'm so sorry love, I messed up everything, again." He rolled back, gazing at the ceiling and feeling like bursting in tears, "I suck at this."

"Well, maybe we should have tried that first." Peter said with a small dry laugh, the cynic side of him emerging, just like it always did when he had to deal with painful things. Harry had a little pout forming on his lips that made him look far younger and more vulnerable than he was and Peter turned and buried his head in the crook of Harry's neck,

"Don't be sorry. Its sex, it's not supposed to be perfect." Harry gave a little humourless snort,

"Well, there's a big difference between perfect and lousy." True, Peter mused, but hardly the point right now.

"I guess I'm in the fault too," He said in a grave voice but Harry shook his head, "No, really, I just couldn't relax enough."

"Would it help if it was the other way around?" Harry's voice held a note of hope, dread and uncertainty,

"What do you mean?"

"If you were on top?" Peter's eyes grew wide in disbelief,

"You'd let me do that? Even when you know how painful it is?"

"I'm best friends with Ron and Hermione, I _know_ pain!" Peter shook his head in amusement, "Besides, we did make a deal." Harry pointed out, "Would you care to try?" His fingers ghosted over Peter's hip, slipping down ever so slowly,

"I might." Peter said in a faux casual voice and Harry gaped in mock disbelief,

"I dare say that some parts of you are more interested than "might"," He cried out and grabbed the offending erection to Peter's laughter. Peter leaned forward to catch Harry's lips in a searing kiss,

"Roll over and spread your legs," He whispered to his lover and then rolled on top of him, reaching for the vial of oil without breaking eye contact with Harry. He slowly slipped one oily finger inside Harry and winced as the body beneath him tensed, "Are you alright?" Harry nodded tightly and Peter was somewhat amused to think that this is how he looked when the roles were reversed, he slowly withdrew his finger and then eased it back in, when suddenly Harry's whole body went rigid and his eyes went impossibly wide. Peter halted immediately; afraid he's done some damage to Harry when the raven haired youth moaned pathetically,

"Oh gods, oh Merlin, holly fuck, do that again!" Harry pierced Peter with a scorching gaze, his chest heaving and his eyes far too bright, when Peter repeated his movement and Harry's world exploded in white and he threw his head back in ecstasy. "Fuck, what was that?" He panted, feeling his spent prick jerk back to life and growing harder by the second,

"That, my love, must be your prostate." Peter said in a wondering voice. Ok, Seamus did mention the prostate as something to be aspiring to rub, but he never thought it could have this sort of effect on someone, and the knowledge that he was the one who got Harry in such a state of sexual bliss was doing wonders to his own libido. Besides, he completely forgot about it before, trying to fight the pain back. Peter inserted another finger and sped his movements, not wanting Harry to reach climax before he was inside him, because that would be two for him and none for Peter and that just wasn't fair.

"Fuck, I'm ready, fuck me." Harry pleaded puffing for air and Peter brushed his prostate again, just before removing his fingers altogether, making Harry keen in despair,

"You know, you have such a foul mouth when it comes to sex."

"Do you like it?"

"Yes."

"Than shut the hell up and fuck me like you mean it!" Peter couldn't help himself; he chuckled and rubbed some more oil onto his leaking cock before he slowly breached Harry. He felt Harry's whole body tense again in pain and tried to go slow, giving Harry the time to adjust to his size, his length, his presence. When he was fully inside Harry took a long slow breath, releasing it through his nose and nodded to Peter.

Now that Peter knew what to look for to make it easier on Harry it was much more fun, and much less painful, or at least Harry didn't seem to notice the pain when he prostate was so thoroughly rubbed and teased. Peter set a pace that was slow yet not sluggish, doing his best to hit that spot inside Harry as often as he could. He marvelled at the exquisiteness beauty of Harry's face, the way the contorted and flushed as he gave himself completely to the desire. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was panting hard, back and neck arching whenever Peter hit his prostate, making little mewling sounds, whimpers, moans and groans that were driving Peter to the brink of want. "T-Touch me…" The little minx under him was pleading and Peter couldn't stop himself from doing just so. He pulled at Harry's prick and tried to time the strokes with his thrusts, with only partial success that nevertheless didn't spoil their pleasure.

Harry was the first to climax, as he arched off the bed and thick ropes of pearl-white cum spurting to cover his chest. The unbelievable force of his orgasm was causing him to clench himself tight around Peter who literally saw stars at that, sending him over the cliff with a matching vigour and force. He slumped onto Harry's chest before he could stop himself and felt his body shaking so hard, every muscle quivering sated and exhausted. Harry feathered his fingers through Peter's hair with a soft smile, this was defiantly one of the most intense experiences of his short life and while part of him wanted to jump back in for another go, the rest of him protested wildly at the idea of moving anywhere. He felt Peter's softening cock starting to slide slowly out of him, and the feeling was rather irritating, like a constant itch or dull pain he couldn't squash. He started to shift uneasily and that at last got the attention of the heavy body lying on top of his. Peter, who was slowly coming back to his senses was suddenly aware of Harry's discomfort and pulled back and out in one swift motion, making Harry whimper softly before he collapsed again, this time by Harry's side.

As soon as he felt Peter hit the mattress again, Harry curled up against him, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist and resting his head on Peter's shoulder. He didn't care for anything anymore; he just wanted to fall asleep,

"Harry, we should clean ourselves before this stuff gets congealed." Peter said in slight disgust, always the practical one, and Harry sighed. He blinked his eyes open with a great effort and raised his hand, before he even stopped to think about it and mumbled,

"Scourgify." To the boys immense surprise the semen soiling their bodies disappeared at once, Harry raised his head and gaped at Peter, his mouth working but no words coming out,

"Well, that's surprising," Peter said with a slight smile, "I didn't know you can do wandless magic."

"I can do only two spells, the cleaning spell for the aftermath of wanking and the summoning spell." Harry said in wonderment, "Well, that's pretty handy, I guess. If our wands don't work here, at least we could use those two spells for sexual purposes." He grinned at Peter, as if that was his evil plan all along and Peter rolled his eyes,

"Smartypants." Harry once again snuggled to Peter's side and rested his head on Peter's shoulder while Peter pulled the covers around them, since their damp skin was rapidly drying in the cool night air. Harry ran his fingers on Peter's smooth skin, deep in thought, while Peter's fingers were weaving through Harry's dark locks,

"Do you think that enjoying the second round so much makes me a natural bottom?"

"Not necessarily, it mostly means that I'm a complete idiot for forgetting about the prostate." Harry smiled and lifted his head to press a soft kiss to Peter's lips,

"Then I guess that tomorrow we should try and find yours." Peter let out an exaggerated sigh,

"Indeed. Good night, Harry."

"Good night Peter." Peter closed his eyes fully intending to let sleep wash over him and take him away to dreamland when he felt rather than heard Harry chuckling softly against his chest,

"What?"

"Nothing," Harry replied without lifting his head, "Just thought about it, we're not virgins anymore."

"No, I guess we're not."

The two lovers settled comfortably, holding each other and drifting into a deep, sated sleep.

* * *

Sindarin to English Quicktionary: 

(Translations are curtsey of Love.

Adar- Father.

Ion Nin- my son.

Mallen- Golden.

Meleth- Love.

**A/N:** I bet half of you didn't even noticed, but apparently "The Lord of the Rings" was first published in 1954, and since Peter left to Narnia in 1941 he couldn't possibly have read the books… But to my defence I can only say that I was certain it was published on 1937 (which was actually when "The Hobbit" hit the book stores), and I decided to check out on a whim (silly me…). I'm not going to change it because I worked hard on that introduction to M.E., and I like it.

"The wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum was published in 1900; the movie with Judy Garland came out in 1939, so at least I'm not completely out of my element.

A lot of Aragorn and Legolas' relationship is based on a fic called "What is meant to be" by ak-stinger- fanfiction. net /s/ 1926189/1/.


	9. The best things in Life Part II

**Running with Love**

**Chapter Nine- The best things in life- Part II**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing on…**

Co-written with InsaneGiggles, her incredibly free roaming mind has been quite the source of inspiration. Million thanks.

**Chapter** **summery: **What would become of out heroes? Would they find their way back home? Do they even want to?... Stay tuned for the last episode of "Running with Love".

* * *

…**oo00oo…**

The next few weeks rolled by in an easy pace. Harry and Peter easily got into the routine and domestic life in the grand citadel of Minas Tirith. The king and prince took a real shine to them treating them like some young relatives, which was fine by Harry and Peter, at least as long as Legolas didn't make fun of their relationship. Especially around the breakfast table after a particularly hot night, Legolas never missed the chance to tease them on their sluggish movements and the way they blushed and devoured food as if they didn't see any for days.

The elven prince took it upon himself to teach Harry how to use a bow, to improve his… aim, as he often declared with a little wink that long since stopped embarrassing Harry. His aim _has_ improved, greatly, under the tutelage of the slender elf and it made Harry feel like he had some purpose again, now that he was stranded away from Hogwarts and his magic.

Peter mostly busied himself with learning about the history of Middle Earth, ever the eager student he found the tangle of myths and stories to be like a giant mess of yarn, and it was up to him to sort it out again and put it neatly into a ball. Aragorn, Faramir, Eowyn and Legolas helped him as much as they could each giving him their own people's stories but secretly they all wished that Elrond and Gandalf would hurry up to show up to quench Peter's thirst for knowledge.

About three weeks after Peter and Harry showed up on the doorstep of the citadel a messenger arrived from the main gate to inform the king that the delegation from the Shire has arrived, and Aragorn was thoughtful enough, or amused enough to send a word of it to Peter and Harry. The two hurried to the courtyard where Aragorn and Legolas were already waiting for their guests along with the steward and his wife. Harry wasn't completely sure what to expect as he never actually met any hobbits but Peter was eager to find the truth behind the stories. When the small group arrived Harry looked curiously to see what kind of creatures hobbits might be. He already knew they were small- Halflings, and cheerful but nothing prepared him to the mess that issued once the hobbits saw their old friends. Kisses and hugs were given and received all around and he and Peter shied aside, suddenly feeling out of place but Eowyn, who noticed their discomfort called them forward and introduced the hobbits to them each by name.

There was the solemn, pale looking hobbit who kept his right hand hidden in his pocket that Harry learned was the one who actually went into the fires of Mordor to destroy the One Ring- Frodo was his name. Saviour of his world by a strange string of occurrences, just like me, he mused somewhat bitterly. Sam was the chubby one who constantly had to make sure that everything was alright with Frodo and with his own family- his wife Rosie, who was the only woman in the group and his three little children Elanor, Frodo and Rose. The one who was seemed taken with the fair lady Eowyn was Merry and the littlest hobbit with the widest smile was the notorious Pippin. Accompanying the group was a tall, white bearded wizard in white robes. To Harry he reminded of Dumbledore somewhat- probably the white beard and all that. Harry watched as the old man had a hushed conversation with Aragorn while sending curious glances at him and Peter and he also noticed that Peter seemed torn between owe and dread from the old man. Harry could sense the power radiating from him and knew this was the legendary Gandalf even without being told so.

After pleasantries were exchanged the king invited his guests back into the palace for a spot of dinner, much to the hobbits delight. Peter followed Harry inside, his hand clasp tight in Harry's, he wasn't sure why, but he felt nervous. Gandalf was here, which meant that he could confirm or break their story. Not that Peter was lying about things but he still felt a little uncertain, because he knew without a doubt that if it came to his word against the one of Gandalf he didn't stood a chance. He was rather agitated as he sat down to dinner but soon, under the influence of the great food and the laughter and merry making around the table (it's was the first time, after all, that so many people sat around that table), Peter felt like he was relaxing, almost against his will.

"Where's Gimli?" Legolas asked in an almost worried voice, and the hobbits sniggered,

"He decided to remain in Edoras for a while." Merry said in a highly amused voice, and Sam huffed in disapproval,

"He had a "drinking contest" with king Eomer," He said in his best condemning voice, "And apparently won, thus taking the king for a visit in the Glittering Caves. They should arrive within a week." By the time he finished the table was in various stages of laughter, while Eowyn and Pippin, along with Legolas were positively howling with hilarity.

"Crazy stubborn dwarf." Legolas mused fondly, almost to himself, as the table erupted with stories of crazy stubborn dwarves and horse-masters.

"So, where did you say you come from?" Gandalf's voice carried out throughout the hall and all the occupants of the table hushed and turned to look at Peter and Harry. Peter, as a defence mechanism, promptly blushed, before he swallowed his mouthful with some difficulty,

"Narnia, sir." Gandalf's piercing dark eyes flashed with an emotion Peter couldn't quite place,

"Have you, by any chance, met Jadis?" Peter and Harry exchanged an uneasy look before Harry tentatively asked,

"You mean the white witch?"

"Only when she's naughty." The old wizard replied with a wink and a ripple of amused sniggers passed the table, and Peter had to bite his lip, for the first time feeling some remorse for killing the white witch, Susan would keel over if she saw me now…

"Hum… we, er… defeated her." He said hesitantly, trying to break the news as gently as possible,

"Ah, then you have done what I could not." Gandalf intoned gravely, placing his elbow on the table and cupping his chin in his gnarled hand, a dreamy expression crossing his face, and a wistful sigh shaking his frame "Jadis… What a woman… Our tale was truly a song of ice and fire." Peter had to bite his lip to hold his smile at bay, but not everyone practiced such self-restraint as it seems, "I saw that, young elf," Gandalf said without bothering to turn his head and Legolas rolled his eyes, "And I'll have you know that even an old, nosy wizard has a merit for a love life. So, I take it Aslan has returned?" He finished by turning those smouldering eyes at Peter again,

"Yes. But then he left again." Gandalf rolled his eyes good-naturedly,

"Never trust a feline- that's what I always said."

"When did you ever say that?" Pippin piped from his seat next to Harry, who he used for cover once the old wizard turned to fix him with a stern gaze.

"Do you know Dumbledore?" Harry ventured, now that he had the wizard's attention, sort of,

"Not as intimately as I did Jadis." He replied with a smile and this time everyone could hear Legolas' reaction in the form of a loud snort, which broke the tension in the hall as the entire table, Gandalf included, burst in hearty laughter.

"Tell me your tale." The old wizard prompted and once again Peter and Harry found themselves telling their story. The hobbits were enthralled by the tale, especially Pippin who was eagerly sitting at the edge of his seat. The royal family of Gondor were having a little hushed conversation of their own, complete with little affectionate nips and kisses that didn't much help Peter concentrate on his words. When he was done Gandalf nodded in understanding, obviously already trying to figure out what is to be done with the two,

"Come, Aragorn, let us retire to the balcony for a little smoke. I have a pouch full of "Old Toby" weed, begging to be lit." Aragorn rose eagerly from his chair to join Gandalf and they retired outside while the others continued their conversation, namely- the hobbits were asking Peter and Harry question after question, their thirst seeming satiated. Peter didn't see Gandalf again for that night, and by the time he and Harry finally stumbled to their bed they dropped into heavy sleep as soon as their head touched the pillow.

As it turned out the hobbits decided to arrive almost a month ahead of time so that they could spend some of it with Aragorn and Legolas before they become too cooped up with their other guests. Those were indeed happy days all around the royal citadel of Minas Tirith. Aragorn and Legolas were reunited with their old time friends and Peter and especially Harry found accomplices for pranks and games. Gandalf spend a lot of time grilling Harry and Peter for any information they could give him on his friends, but he could not confirm or rebut Harry's elven heritage. This would have to wait until Lord Elrond deemed fit to arrive which, according to Aragorn was mere days before the celebrations would open.

Soon people began to arrive; delegations of all the free folk of Middle Earth were making their way to gates of Minas Tirith. First came king Eomer of Rohan along with Gimli to spend a few days with their friends, but once the other nobles showed Eomer had to confine himself to official meetings with the king and prince of Gondor. Aragorn and Legolas were nearly run down with greeting guests and trying to keep political peace amongst them all. That left Harry and Peter to hang about with the hobbits, Gandalf and Gimli much to their pleasure as they soon grew tiered of answering people about what they were doing in Minas Tirith and where they came from. They mostly passed their days in the dining hall or strolling around the gardens. Harry still had to attend his daily bow practice, which seemed to be Legolas' main relive of the day and thus an almost sacred affair, as far as the elf was concerned.

Harry began to feel uneasy, his old shyness rearing its ugly head again. Although no one knew of "The Boy who lived" around Middle Earth he still felt a little overwhelmed with the masses of people around. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits- every last one of the free folk of Middle Earth have sent representatives to celebrate and honour the end of the war. He discovered he much preferred to stay in his room or find refuge in the huge library, the only person he was willing to tolerate the presence of for long was Peter. He also noticed his eating habits somewhat changed but he attributed it to the fact that by sitting next to Pippin during meals he could hardly be blamed for over eating.

Strange visions also started plaguing his dreams, none too specific and never nightmares. He couldn't remember much of them the next day, save for faint childish laughter echoing in his ears when he woke up, it wasn't unpleasant, it was just strange. For the first couple of days he thought it must have been Sam Gamgee's children having a late night playtime since the hobbits' rooms were next to his and Peter's, but a further inspection revealed that Sam and his merry bunch resided in the furthest room. So eventually Harry put it down to over eating- it was a good explanation for almost everything.

As promised Lord Elrond showed up about four days before the grand opening of the festivities, by that time the rest of the guests all managed to perform some sort of alliance with each other and allowed Aragorn and Legolas a little break of "babysitting" noble men. Lord Elrond refused to wait at the gate until a guard was sent up to the castle to fetch his son and thus he met him just as Aragorn came flying into the courtyard, Legolas and the rest hot at his hills as soon as the guard breathlessly panted Elrond's arrival,

"Adar!" Aragorn cried as he flung his arms around the elderly half-elf, Elrond's stern and impressive face broke into a hearty grin and he hugged his son tight,

"Ion nin, it is so good to see you again." The two then turned to Legolas who seemed stressed and grim, he held out his arm and put his hand on Elrond's shoulder, just as the older elf did the same. "Legolas, you look well."

"Thank you sir, so do you." Harry observed the exchange with interest, it seemed that Legolas was a trifle scared of his father-in-low, and that Elrond knew that, and was quite happy making Legolas feeling uncomfortable. Before Legolas had a chance to say something Elrond gazed at the congregated hobbits and a slow grin spread on his face,

"I have brought a little surprise for you." He stepped aside to reveal a tiny, fragile looking hobbit that looked so old and wrinkled, leaning against his staff that Harry wouldn't have been surprised if his name turned out to be Yoda.

"Uncle Bilbo!" Frodo exclaimed in astonishment and the old hobbit chuckled, a sound that reminded Harry of dry parchment rustling more than anything,

"My dear boy!" The hobbits all rushed to greet the famousest hobbit. Harry watched them amused, after all, nothing can beat an enthusiastic hobbit, and they _always_ seemed to be enthusiastic about _something_. He didn't notice that Aragorn was whispering something in Elrond's ear until the Lord of Rivendell stood right in front of him, looming down curiously over Harry.

"My son tells me that you are a visitor from another world." Harry nodded, swallowing hard. He suddenly appreciated exactly what Legolas must be feeling every time he had to face the elf. "You have most curious eyes."

"Yes, Legolas seem to believe I have some elven blood in me." He answered in a slightly cracking voice,

"Does he now?"

"Adar, could you please exam Harry to see if this might be true?" Harry nearly sighed in relief as the sharp dark eyes turned to Aragorn.

"Of course. Come here, Harry." Instinctively Harry grabbed Peter's hand and dragged him behind before stepping in front of Elrond. The elf lord peered into Harry's eyes closely, before running his hands over his face, shoulders and then torso. Harry gulped as the hands travelling his body seemed to have picked up heat and he tried his best not to move. "Most curious, most curious indeed." Elrond muttered under his breath before acknowledging Harry again, "Have you a bed, lad?" Harry gazed at him wide eyed, and Elrond smiled warmly, "I believe you better lie down to listen to what I have to say." Harry nodded dumbly and led him towards his room, fully aware that everyone else was following with rapt interest.

Harry gingerly lowered himself to the bed, resting his back against the headboard as Elrond ran his hand over his abdomen once more before he turned to look at Harry,

"Tell me, Harry, have you been engaged in any sexual activity?" To Harry's immense horror he could hear the others snicker in a "Hell Yes!" sort of way and gulped before offering Elrond a weak smile,

"Yes, sir." He almost whispered,

"Then I believe I have an answer for you and some news." Harry frowned, and Lord Elrond continued with an amused tone, "It seems that one of your ancestors has wondered into Middle Earth at some point and here she encountered an elf, most likely a Mirkwood elf." At that he gave Legolas a stern look and the young elf blanched and withdrew closer to Aragorn, "They had an affair, resulting in the human female's pregnancy. I can safely say that yes, you do indeed carry within you the mark of elven blood." The others in the room nodded in approval and the hobbits cheered loudly, "As for the news, you are with child." The cheering abruptly stopped and all eyes went from Harry to Elrond, wide and astonished,

"What?" Harry's mind was buzzing so loudly he couldn't even think of what Elrond had said,

"You are pregnant, my child." Harry felt the air suddenly in short supply and started to hyperventilate. How could that be, it's not even biologically possible, his mind protested when he heard a loud thud and looked on the floor to see Peter, white as a sheet and out cold.

"Peter!" Aragorn immediately stooped to examine the unconscious boy,

"He'll be alright, he's just in shock." He told Harry and with the help of Faramir, Peter was soon placed on the bed besides Harry, a cold cloth over his head. Once Harry confirmed Peter was going to live he turned back to Elrond, bursting with questions,

"How did this happen? Why?"

"As to how, I believe you have a better idea than I," Elrond said with a little twinkle in his eye that made Harry blush, "As to why- It was known in the old times that male elves of the Sindarin could produce children. This is a gift that unfortunately was lost or at least unpractised during the last age as the elves stopped reproducing and began to leave Middle Earth. You, who have elven blood in your heritage, must have inherited the ability to yield a child. This is a blessing, my dear boy."

"How long?" Harry whispered, completely mesmerised with the words coming out of Elrond's mouth,

"About three and a half months."

"How is it possible? I don't have a womb!" Harry persisted, hardly believing this could be real. He placed a protecting hand on his stomach without even thinking about it,

"Your body will form a protecting and nourishing barrier around the baby that would keep it safe and provide for it as long as it's in you."

"How will the baby come out?" Pippin stepped forward, always the curious hobbit, while Merry tried to pull him back,

"When the baby will be ready to be born, a birthing channel would form to allow its exit."

"Where?" Elrond suddenly looked uneasy at the little hobbit's question and held for a long moment before admitting,

"I don't know." Harry's eyes grew almost comically wide, having a tiny life growing inside him was a nice thought, all in all, comforting even, having strange openings forming in his body was down right frightening! "There hasn't been a male pregnancy in Middle Earth in over an age." He placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, "But I promise you, young Harry, that I shall return to Rivendell and search my library for any useful information." Before Harry could ask any of the other questions that were plaguing his mind, Legolas stepped forward and cried out,

"Hold on! How is it possible for Harry to be pregnant? He's only a smidgen elf! What of me? By rights I should have borne a hoard of children by now, Aragorn and I have been at it for ages!" Behind his back Aragorn closed his eyes as if in pain and Gandalf was doing his best to hide his smile behind his beard. Elrond bristled like an angry cat as he rose from the bed and pierced his son-in-low with a menacing glare,

"Ages? How many _ages_?" Legolas blanched and promptly answered, a little too quickly,

"Five years!" Lord Elrond used all his little tricks to enhance and magnify his appearance in a way that would have put Gandalf to shame,

"You probably do not know of that, but in male pregnancies there is always an element of wishing. Apparently you are not quite ready to share the undoubted charms of my son with someone else yet." He finished in a cold tone before turning to his son, "Ion nin, a private word, please." Aragorn nodded tightly and turned to follow his father out of the room, smiling albeit sadly at the pleading frown on his husband's face.

A long silence stretched after the departure of Elrond and Aragorn until Legolas managed to gather control over himself and turned savagely to Harry,

"Well, now that you have proven to be of elven heritage there really isn't any excuse for your poor aiming! I expect to see you at the archery field after breakfast!" With that he spun around and left the room without waiting for the stunned Harry to reply.

"Don't worry, laddie. He's just upset because of his own traitorous tongue. He'll cool off soon enough." Boomed Gimli, and the tension in the room somewhat lessened.

"Congratulations, Harry!" Merry cried out excitedly and Harry smiled for the first time in what felt like years. He was pregnant, with child; he was going to have a baby! Before Harry found himself practically buried in a heap of hobbits, all laughing and hugging him,

"All this excitement sure worked an appetite in me; I believe a luncheon is in order." Pippin declared and a loud chorus of approving hobbits answered him. They scrambled off of Harry and made their way towards the door, chatting amicably about babies and lunch, carrying the dwarf along with them. When the room was empty and quiet once again, Gandalf approached Harry and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I have a feeling Dumbledore would be especially pleased with the news." Harry gave him a small smile and rubbed his stomach again. His abdomen was still flat and nothing in his appearance gave away his true condition, but Harry felt different.

"I hope that Legolas and Aragorn will be alright." Gandalf gave him an amused chuckle and leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner,

"Don't worry young Harry, Lord Elrond just likes to extract a little extra authority when it comes to his son-in-low. Legolas would have to learn to stand up to him one of these days." The old wizard patted Harry's hand and prepared to get up when Harry suddenly remembered something,

"Oh, damn, I forgot to ask Lord Elrond if he could tell me the baby's sex." He lamented,

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Harry blinked at Gandalf in confusion, well, he could wait five and a half more months, but he really rather know sooner… "If you are able to conceive through your elvish heritage, I'll wager you got the sight, At least at a limited capacity. You should be able to see your unborn child. Concentrate." He instructed before getting up from the bed, "I better go rescue the poor king." He said with a small wink and Harry smiled.

When the door closed behind Gandalf's back Harry turned to look at Peter, still unconscious next to him. He concentrated on the slow rise and fall of Peter's chest before his curiosity got the better of him and he closed his eyes, letting his body relax and moving his tunic away so he could touch the bare skin of his belly. He concentrated, thinking of the tiny life growing inside him, completely depending on him for food and protection, when suddenly he found himself walking in an alien forest, as far as Harry could tell from his limited acquaintanceship with woods he could defiantly say this was not the forest surrounding the lamppost in Narnia, nor was it the forbidden forest in Hogwarts. Here the trees were huge, their bark was smooth and almost silver, the foliage so green Harry thought it impossible.

He wondered around, gazing curiously at the trees, touching their trunk softly and marveling at the feeling, Mallorn trees was their name, he somehow knew by instinct, even though he never seen them before. The hot sun filtered through the wood canopy, warming the cool air under the trees. Harry walked a short distance when a flash of gold caught his eye and he turned his head to see a little clearing bathed in warm liquid yellow sunlight and in the middle of the clearing stood a little boy. A little boy with soft golden hair and brilliant green eyes. My son, Harry thought in amazement, my Mallen. Harry moved towards the clearing, where the boy stood smiling and waiting for him, his small mouth pink and perfect, so happy, when a loud groan broke Harry's concentration and startled him back to reality.

Harry opened his eyes, briefly wondering where he was and what happened, the only thing clear on his mind was the image of the little boy he saw in the wood. He smiled wistfully and caressed his stomach lovingly when the groan sounded again, this time accompanied with the shifting of the mattress and Harry turned his head to see Peter come to.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked tentatively, placing a tender hand on Peter's shoulder,

"Like a herd of centaurs is galloping through my brain." He complained and Harry smiled, "What happened?"

"You fainted."

"Really? Why?" Harry worried his lip for a moment, not sure how to broach the subject. While he rapidly came to terms with the fact that he was pregnant and could only feel love and want to protect his child he wasn't entirely sure how Peter might react to the knowledge he was going to be a father at seventeen.

"Peter, there is something I need to tell you, but you have to promise not to flip over." Peter gave him a strange look, and Harry took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

"What? How, why… where?" Peter stammered barely coherent in his shock,

"If you're going to ask who, I'll smack you!" Harry warned and Peter chuckled despite of himself, before he calmed a bit, taking a couple of deep breaths,

"How is that possible?"

"Apparently it is for elves, or part elves."

"Oh, that's right, you're part elf! I remember Elrond saying that, just before…" He stopped and turned a brilliant shade of pink,

"You took a tumble." Harry finished for him helpfully and Peter grinned sheepishly.

"It was quite a shock." He cried defensively,

"Yeah, I know!" The two teens looked at each other for a long while not saying a word, Peter was still trying to wrap his mind around the latest development while Harry studied his face intently, watching for any signs of dejection.

"So… What now?" Peter asked slowly, not wanting to upset Harry, from what he remembered of his mother's pregnancies with Ed and Lu, she was the touchiest person alive and any comment would set the water works in motion. He vaguely wondered if pregnant boys had morning sickness and strange food cravings as girls did.

"I don't know." Harry answered part of him glad that Peter didn't say he wanted to get rid of the baby and part of him suddenly scared, once the heavy responsibilities of reality seemed to have dropped heavy on his shoulders. "I don't want to lose him, Peter." He suddenly cried out, hands curling over his stomach again, as if Peter was about to launch and try to harm his precious baby.

"Him? You know it's a him?" Harry nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with excitement as he turned to Peter,

"Well, there is this thing called elven sight and apparently I got some of it and I could see our son, he was walking in a forest of huge trees, looking so cute and happy, he's our Mallen."

"You named him already?"

"No, no, no, Mallen means golden in Sindarin. He looked just like you." Harry answered in a chuckle. "You can name him George for all I care."

"I think we still have some time before we need to figure that one out." Peter said reasonably, trying to crush a sudden wince at the name George. He snuggled close to Harry and place a tender hand on his boyfriend's abdomen, not missing Harry's teary smile as he rubbed slowly, a slow smile spreading on his face.

"So, you're not upset?" Harry whispered and wrapped his arms tightly around Peter,

"Of course not. It's partly my doing I suppose."

"You bet your arse it is!" The two shared a hearty laugh, when Peter suddenly remembered something,

"I suppose we better tell everyone the news then."

"No need," Harry exclaimed happily, "They already know."

The stayed in bed most of that day, Aragorn sent a trey laden with food for them and they lay in bed, eating and talking about things. Inevitably things would be very different from now on. By next morning they got up and about to find the whole city in uproar, as the mark for the celebrations to begin has been given. Soon enough they were caught in the joyous festivities that broke spontaneously all over the place, going from one congregation of merry-making to another, dragged by Pippin and Merry who never missed a good party.

Physically Harry was feeling wonderful, which quite surprised him, as he thought he would spend most of his time bend over the toilet, but apart from mild nausea that Aragorn told him was caused due to over-eating (serves him right for joining the hobbits in all their partying), he didn't suffer much. Peter had become quite an expert at identifying and pinpointing the moment Harry's hormones were about to go wild and usually managed to calm him down before any major tantrums were issued.

The night of the banquet, which was the major event of the celebrations, the throne hall of the citadel was packed full with people, all sitting around long tables, covered in all sorts and ends of food, ale, and wine. The guests were chatting and laughing and the noise seemed to Harry almost deafening. He sat next to Peter, nervously holding his hand under the table while the other rested on his abdomen in the protective gesture that seemed like the most natural thing in the world for him now. His whole body was screaming for escape, and he found he had difficulties breathing. A thin shine of perspiration covered his face and made his body feel clammy.

"Harry, would you help an old wizard to the balcony for a much needed smoke?" Harry turned to look at Gandalf and saw that glinting twinkle in his eye that told Harry that Gandalf knew exactly how he was feeling and nearly wept in relief and gratitude. He followed the wizard outside into the cool air that evaporated the sweat off his brow and chilled the burning in his cheeks. "You seemed a little ill there."

"It's having so many people around, I suppose. I was never too good at dealing with masses." Harry answered as he filled his lungs with refreshing gulps of air, feeling as if he didn't have a proper breather in ages.

"What would you do now?" Gandalf asked as he leaned against the rail, watching over the plain and fingering his pipe in longing but not lighting it because of the pregnant teen next to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you planning to return to Hogwarts?" Harry looked down at his hands; it was time to face the questions both he and Peter have been avoiding so far.

"I don't know if we can." He admitted quietly,

"Why ever not?"

"Could you send us back?" Gandalf took a long time to weigh his answer,

"I can."

"What about the baby?" Harry asked in ill-masked concern, looking up at the tall man,

"Are you planning to leave your son behind?" Harry looked startled at the very notion,

"Of course not!"

"This child is a part of you, it would always be. You are his parents, you and Peter and wherever you choose to go, you are more than expected to take him with you." Harry chewed his lip in thought, well, that answered one concern he had.

"I think," He began slowly, "That we shall stay here, at least until the baby is born. I still Lord Elrond's help with the birth and all that."

"A wise decision." Gandalf agreed and then looked wistfully at his pipe again. "Well, young Harry, I believe I shall leave you to it, and go find myself a quiet place to smoke." With a little apologetic smile the wizard disappeared back into the hall and Harry was left alone to muse. He ran a hand down his front for the who-knows-how-many time that evening. Although his stomach was still quite flat he was already starting to feel it rounding up. He smiled and suddenly felt very impatient for the pregnancy to develop, he simply couldn't wait to start showing. He envisioned himself walking proudly all around the citadel, his stance beaming with pride. He wanted to feel his child moving inside him, making himself known. Throughout the last couple of days, ever since he discovered the truth, this baby was his source of solace and peace of mind.

This was real, this was what he'd been waiting for all his life, the kind of feeling he never thought he'd know. The desire to take care of someone else, to give the kind of unconditional love and care to someone who's totally depending on you. Harry figured he had that when his parents were still alive but of course he was too young to remember any of it, but here he had a chance to rectify things, to turn a new leaf and give everything he could ever give to this child, his child- His and Peter's. This child is going to be so loved and spoiled, he thought with a smile.

"Harry, _Harry_!" Harry woke from his reverie in a slight daze and turned to see Peter standing near the doorway, looking a little worried. Harry smiled and reached his hand for his boyfriend and Peter came forward, wrapping Harry soundly in his arms. The young couple gazed over the plain together, Peter's fingers entwined with Harry's over his belly. Neither of them spoke for a while. Decisions would have to be made at some point, not too far along into the future but tonight there were only them and their unborn child to hold and love.

* * *

**A/N: "**A song of ice and fire" is a series of books by George R.R. Martin. 

This story is not trying to advocate or legitimise teen pregnancies. So next time you're having sex with someone, make sure he's not a part elf!

Sindarin to English Quicktionary: 

(Translations are curtsey of Love.

Adar- Father.

Ion Nin- my son.

Mallen- Golden.

Meleth- Love.

* * *

**YES!!!! IT'S OVER, IT'S DONE! AT LONG, _LONG_ LAST!!!**

I want to thank you all for sticking with me for so long and not losing your faith. Thank you InsaneGiggles for the great ideas and the encouragement to write this fic, stitchpotter626 for the inspiration and the rest of you for reading and reviewing.


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